Copper prices edged up on Wednesday, as low stockpiles in exchange warehouses lent some support to the metal, following sharp drops in the recent weeks.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.8% to $9,569 a tonne by 0545 GMT, having lost 8.5% since Oct. 18.

The most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 0.6% to 70,400 yuan ($11,001.72) a tonne, following two straight weeks of declines.

On-warrant LME copper inventories edged up to 31,675 tonnes, but still hovered near their lowest since 1998 of 14,150 tonnes hit on Oct. 14.

LME cash copper premium over the three-month contract were at $275 a tonne, indicating tight nearby supplies.

ShFE copper stocks rose for the first time in three weeks last week to 49,327 tonnes, but were still down some 80% from May.

Fundamentals

• LME aluminium rose 0.6% to $2,707.50 a tonne, LME lead advanced 0.8% to $2,381 a tonne, ShFE aluminium climbed 0.6% to 20,150 yuan a tonne and ShFE lead increased 0.5% to 15,830 yuan a tonne.

• A rural community in Peru will lift its blockade of the country's largest copper mine Antamina on Wednesday after protests forced miners to suspend operations, the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines said in a tweet.