Shanghai Futures Exchange copper climbed 1.4 percent, with similar gains seen in lead, aluminium, while ShFE nickel rallied 2.3 percent on Monday and Shanghai zinc ended up 4.3 percent after production cuts by Glencore revived sentiment towards metals and as a US rate hike looked to be delayed. "Glencore is shoring up its balance sheet by cutting supply. It's not the amount, it's the message of what it is prepared to do," said chief investment officer Jonathan Barratt of Ayer's Alliance in Sydney.
"The message of the miners cutting supply, that China can stimulate and continue to stimulate is (why) for the last month we've been saying this is where you start your long positions." "The scale of Glencore's announced cuts here creates upside risk for zinc's price in coming months," said Morgan Stanley in a note, adding the story was not the same for lead. "The flipside, 100,000 tonnes per annum for lead doesn't pose a similar risk for lead's price (so) no change."