Copper climbed to four-month highs on Thursday, fuelling a rally in base metals on hopes that demand would get a boost from the US Federal Reserves plan to buy long-term Treasury bonds on a large scale to fight recession. The move sent Asian stocks to a five-week high, offering investors a glimmer of hope that a stronger US economy will help the regions export-reliant economies.
But some analysts think the initial euphoria from the Feds move could peter out soon with any expected benefit unlikely to be felt immediately. Shanghai copper for June delivery rose 1.3 percent to close at 30,990 yuan ($4,537) a tonne, stretching its rally to a fifth day and logging a nearly 7 percent gain for the period. The most active contract peaked at 31,220 yuan earlier, a level not seen since November 6.