The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.54 percent at 46,790 yuan ($6,747) a tonne on Thursday after the US raised interest rates for the first time this year. ShFE zinc was up 2.3 percent, while Shanghai nickel edged 0.46 percent higher. ShFE aluminium ended the session down 0.91 percent, after initially dropping more than 2 percent.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked rates by a quarter point and signalled a faster pace of increases in 2017. "The signs of a stronger copper market heading into 2017 are there," said Gavin Wendt at commodity advisory firm MineLife in Sydney. "China's economy is growing at a healthy pace and rising US rate hikes point to a recovery in the US."
Growing tightness in the base metal market continues to weigh on inventories held at exchanges, ANZ Bank commodities analyst Daniel Hynes said in a note. "Another large drawdown in stocks in November has seen them hit levels not seen since just before the 2008 financial crisis," he said.