The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.3 percent to 53,610 yuan ($8,205) a tonne on Tuesday on expectations of further signs of a healthy economic outlook for China. Nickel also found support just shy of Monday's 14-month peak on China's robust industrial outlook, aided by supply-side constraints. China is the world's top user of both copper and nickel.
Over the next few weeks a flurry of data for August is expected to back market expectations for China's growth to taper off only modestly from a solid first half, according to a Reuters poll of analysts. A rally in Chinese steel pushed stainless steel ingredient nickel to an intraday peak of $12,320 a tonne. On Monday, the contract reached its highest since June 2015 at $13,380. ShFE nickel ended 0.8 percent higher.