London — Investors rediscovered a taste for the dollar and commodities on Thursday as upbeat Chinese and US economic news whetted appetite for riskier assets globally, even as tensions over North Korea simmered in the background. One big gainer was US gasoline which surged 6% to two-year peaks as flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Harvey shut nearly a quarter of US refinery capacity. Prices are now up more than 20% in the past week. Adding to the bullish mood, a survey showed Chinese factory growth unexpectedly accelerated in August, confounding forecasts for a slight slowdown. The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) firmed to 51.7, from 51.4 in July. This gave a fresh boost to industrial metals, with copper nearing its highest since late 2014 and on track for gains of 7% for August. European share markets opened firmer, with the Eurostoxx 600 up 0.3% and London’s FTSE, Germany’s DAX 30 and France’s CAC 40 ahead by between 0.25% and 0.4%. Attention was on eurozone inflati...
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