Copper closed higher on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on Thursday but short of earlier record levels as funds snapped up metal in response to inflation worries stirred by Hurricane Rita, dealers said.
"Copper has traded in a pretty narrow range and is consolidating," Bache Financial minerals strategist Angus MacMillan said.
"Prices are benefiting from being in a basket of commodities that includes oil. But even on its own, copper deserves some attention. The fundamentals are very strong," he said.
By the last open-outcry at 1600 GMT benchmark three months had settled back to $3,753, up from Wednesday's $3,750 London close.
Copper earlier touched a record high of $3,790.
Cash copper, which is commanding a premium, hit $3,953, the highest-ever price for LME copper.
"Sooner or later the price will have a '4' in front of it," a source at a momentum-based fund said.
Copper, used in wiring and construction, has soared eight percent from a low of $3,493 last week. Fund buying has spread across energy and commodities on fears that Hurricane Rita will cause more damage to US oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, which is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
US crude futures rose more than one percent on Thursday as the latest storm moved towards the Texas coast.
Hurricane Rita could weaken slightly as it approaches Texas but will remain a major storm, less than a month after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf coast further east.
Analysts and traders are mixed on how much higher the metal can rise or if it is ripe for a correction as some point on the longer-term impact of high energy costs on economic growth and rising supply.
Some analysts say prices will come under pressure as the supply of copper increases in coming months as bottlenecks at smelters are resolved and stocks rise.
Other metals were mixed, although funds were active buyers of aluminium.
Aluminium rose to $1,862 from $1,854, but nickel eased to $13,500 from $13,525. Zinc fell to $1,418/20 from $1,432, but tin was at $6,725, up from $6,575. Lead was at $917, against $913.
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