London copper rallied to a record $9,860 a tonne on Tuesday, tin also rose to an unprecedented $30,400 a tonne, while Shanghai copper hit its highest in nearly four years supported by positive Chinese purchase manager data and healthy US factory activity.
Tin rallied 1 percent and Shanghai's most-active copper futures contract, April rose 2 percent to 74,950 yuan a tonne, having touched 75,000 yuan, its strongest since April 2007. Chinese markets will be shut from Wednesday for week-long holidays, and traders warned of the risk of volatility during Tuesday's session as investors close out or square up ahead of the break.
In other metals, nickel rose to a nine-month peak at $27,750, aluminium equalled a 28-month high scored in January, but lead and zinc traded below recent highs. In Shanghai, zinc rallied 4 percent to close at 19,460 yuan, its highest since early January.