Industrial metals rose on Monday, with copper prices hitting 29-month highs and Shanghai aluminium scaling a three-year peak, on optimism around demand in top metals consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped as much as 2.8% to $7,179 a tonne, the strongest since June 14, 2018.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained as much as 3.5% to 53,800 yuan ($8,173.31) a tonne, the highest since June 15, 2018.
China's industrial output rose at a faster-than-expected pace in October, mirroring healthy metals consumption in the world's second-largest economy.
Copper and aluminium were also supported by last week's data showing declines in inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai exchange, analysts said.
London aluminium rose 0.7% to $1,945 a tonne, its strongest since March 20, 2019. Shanghai aluminium jumped 0.9% to a three-year high of 15,585 yuan a tonne.
“The relative strength between the two markets saw the aluminium arbitrage briefly turn positive for China to import,” commodity strategists at ING said in a note.
“This could suggest that the strong imports we have seen since (the second quarter) may repeat themselves in November if traders have seized this opportunity.”
Fundamentals
* China's aluminium output in October rose 9.7% from a year earlier to a record high.
* Chile's Candelaria copper mine offered an improved contract deal to one of two unions on strike at the deposit in a bid to re-start production.
* In London, nickel rose 1.6% to $16,150 a tonne, zinc jumped 1.8% to $2,676.50, while lead gained 1.1% to $1,914 and tin advanced 1.3% to $18,630.
* In Shanghai, nickel climbed 1.4% by noon break, zinc added 1.5%, lead gained 0.2% and tin advanced 1.3%.