Shanghai copper rose 0.6 percent on Wednesday, while aluminium and zinc jumped, fuelled by gains in London base metals and supply concerns due to stoppages at Chinese smelters.
The April copper contract, the most active on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rose 370 yuan to 60,920 yuan ($8,470) by the noon close, after gaining 2.6 percent in the previous session. The wintery weather slowed deliveries of copper, said a Shanghai-based LME trader, but heavy snow also hampered consumption.
"Chinese fabricators will finish their purchasing for production during the Lunar New Year holidays by the end of this week, while we expect more imports will be delivered in Shanghai in February," he said. In Shanghai's spot market, prices rose 600 yuan a tonne, ranging between 62,100 yuan and 62,400 yuan.
The spot premium dropped 450 yuan to around 100 yuan a tonne. Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange fell $61 to $7,230 a tonne, after gaining more than 3 percent on Tuesday to hit a two-week high after strong US economic data.
"Stiffer resistance lies at the $7,450 mark, which we think will hold at this point. When we do get some selling, it should be after the Fed decision is out of the way," MF Global analyst Edward Meir said in a note.
The US Federal Reserve is expected to cut benchmark interest rates by half a percentage point on Wednesday after a two-day meeting. Last week it slashed rates by 75 basis points to 3.5 percent to help boost confidence.
Chaotic winter weather besieged China's business and farming heartland, with no quick end in sight to weeks of snow and ice that have trapped energy and food flows ahead of a big national holiday.