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Copper futures in New York advanced at the open on Thursday on further chart-based buying, following the market's test of and reversal from key support on Wednesday, sources said.

"All it is doing really is reversing its trend downward from that recent top at $3.6945 (a lb.) on Sept. 7. I think we kind of just broke out of that little down-trend channel," said one broker at a futures commission merchant.

"I think we're still in a bull market. We have had plenty of opportunities to break down ... just look at yesterday. We made a new recent low for two weeks and we came right back up and settled a little higher, and I think that is exhibiting strength," he added.

By 10:31 a.m. EDT (1431 GMT), copper for December delivery was up 0.90 cent at $3.3850 a lb. on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, moving between $3.3345 and $3.4195.

Traders pegged initial support in December copper at $3.30, followed by the Wednesday low at $3.2550. Resistance continued to be eyed at $3.50, and then at around $3.66.

"We're still in this same range that we have seen for the last almost three months, but I think we kind of defined the lower end of the range, given yesterday's bounce," said one.

Spot September eased 0.50 cent to $3.3650, dealing from $3.3470 to $3.40.

Volume at 10 a.m. was estimated at 5,000 lots.

The recent sell-off in the energy markets has been one of the main factors in copper's decline from the early September highs, analysts said.

"We still would maintain that, barring a bounce in energy prices, the lower drift in energy makes copper vulnerable, and we would be reluctant to go long here, until the energy downdraft is fully exhausted or shows signs of terminating," Edward Meir, metals analyst at Man Financial, said in a daily market comment.

U.S. crude oil futures rose on Thursday, steadying near $61 in electronic trading, after dropping to their lowest level in six months on Wednesday amid brimming U.S. fuel stocks.

On the production front, the owner of the Spence copper project in Chile, Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research), and union workers said on Wednesday they thought labor mediators could help them reach an agreement and avoid a strike. If the two sides are not able to come to an agreement by Sept. 25, a strike will begin on Sept. 26.

Earlier in the week, a mediator was called in to help Teck Cominco Ltd. (TCKb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and unionized workers at its Highland Valley copper mine in British Columbia reach a new labor contract.

Meanwhile, London Metal Exchange-monitored warehouse stocks decreased by 600 tonnes to 123,325 tonnes on Thursday, while COMEX stocks rose by 568 short tons to 18,091 tons in Wednesday's daily report.

LME three-months copper was at $7,435 a tonne, up $5 from Wednesday's kerb close.