Shanghai copper futures climbed to fresh contract peaks on Tuesday for the third straight trading session, buoyed by fresh gains on the London Metal Exchange, traders said.
But the Chinese contracts ended off intraday highs and their gains were muted compared to previous sessions, indicating that investors were cautious after strong rises over the past few months, they said.
Shanghai's most active August contract ended up 20 yuan at 24,100 yuan ($2,912) per tonne, off the contract's intra-day high of 24,200 yuan.
The contract had risen 17.3 percent since late October in a domestic rally spurred by global markets.
LME three-month copper was trading at $2,373/2,377 a tonne by 0450 GMT in Tuesday's Asian trade.
This was up from $2,359 at the kerb close on Monday, a $10 rise from the previous floor finish.
Other Shanghai futures contracts closed up 10 yuan to 190 yuan on Tuesday as combined volume fell to 156,145 lots from a heavy 191,764 lots on Monday.
Spot copper in Shanghai gained 120-130 yuan to move in a range of 23,390 yuan to 23,470 yuan a tonne, in line with the futures market, traders said.
Almost all Shanghai aluminium futures ended up 20 to 90 yuan on Tuesday as volume fell to a moderate 18,310 lots from 39,140 lots on Monday.
LME three-month aluminium rebounded to $1,614/1,617 a tonne by 0450 GMT on Tuesday after it eased back to $1,607 at Monday's kerb close, having hit $1,620 in earlier trade.