London copper futures posted a 1.1 percent rise on Monday and Shanghai metal reversed early losses to end flat, rebounding after worries about Japanese and US growth gave way to a more bullish view of supply and demand. "In general terms, the data has been patchy. There were some pretty positive signs from the US manufacturing side, but the labour market continues to disappoint," said Ben Westmore, commodities economist at National Australia Bank.
"Attention will increasingly focus on individual metals' fundamentals. Nickel and copper look strong given the drawdowns in stocks and should China grow around our forecasts of 10 percent next year, those two may see more upside than the rest." Benchmark third-month Shanghai copper was steady at 57,400 yuan, off an early low of 56,650 yuan. Shanghai copper is trading around 150 yuan lower than its LME equivalent, accounting for China's 17 percent VAT, versus 400 yuan at midday. Aluminium rose half a percent to $2,119.75.