Copper extends gains above $9,600 in pre-market.

The article reports on the gains made by copper during pre-market trading on the London Metal Exchange on January 5, 2011, breaching the 9,600-dollar per-tonne barrier again. A stronger macro sentiment in the absence of any significantly disruptive data in Europe and Asia reportedly lifted the red metal. The three-month copper contract is also trading at 9,625 dollars per tonne, and this compares with its opening price of 9,645 dollars per tonne. However, a drop in copper demand in Asia has been also reported.