Climbing commodity prices gives FTSE small gains

Copper futures jumped to a record in Shanghai as global inventories declined and demand increased in China, the world's biggest user of the metal. Rio Tinto, the third-biggest mining company, rose 3.1% to 2,261p. BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, added 1.8%, to 832.5p. Corus, Britain's biggest steelmaker, also added 1.75p, or 3.6%, to 50p. Credit Suisse raised its European steel industry recommendation to "overweight" from "market weight" on expectations that profits will increase. But among the early losers, AstraZeneca, the UK's second-largest drugmaker, fell 67p, o...