Ford Motor plans to launch a second line of aluminium-intensive trucks. Photo: Ford
Copper rose, recovering from a one-week low hit a day earlier as a US dollar rally petered out and metals investors covered short positions ahead of an expected US rate rise.
The greenback edged back from a near one-week high, offering temporary relief to non-US investors buying dollar-priced metals. Tighter monetary policy cuts the appeal of raw materials as stores of value as the dollar strengthens.
"There's been short covering ahead of the Fed ... (but) people are cautious of getting too long. It would be amazing not to see the dollar rally in the event of a hike," said Vivienne Lloyd, analyst at Macquarie.
She added, however: "(Copper) prices could lift (higher) from here, there are some supply constraints ... (and) the China data is not a major disaster, there are a few bright spots."
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed 1 per cent higher at $US4609 a tonne, reversing losses from Tuesday when it hit $US4554, the lowest since December 8.
"It's still bearish, but investors are starting to ask if next year could be a turning point," said UBS analyst Lachlan Shaw.
Aluminium climbed 1 per cent to finish at $US1486 a tonne.
Some large aluminium smelters in China are likely to participate in a commercial stockpiling programme, which would cut the availability of metal, industry sources said.
Also, Ford Motor plans to launch a second line of aluminium-intensive trucks.
Zinc ended 0.5 per cent firmer at $US1512, rebounding from a 6-1/2 year low of $US1483 earlier. The zinc market had a surplus of 213,000 tonnes for the first 10 months, versus a deficit of 242,000 tonnes a year ago, data showed.
Lead slid 2.5 per cent to close at $US1665, the lowest in a week, after LME data showed lead stocks surged 40,025 tonnes or 30 per cent on the day to 170,975 tonnes.
Nickel gained 2.3 per cent to finish at $US8750. The nickel market recorded a surplus of 51,800 tonnes, or some 3 per cent of annual demand, in the first 10 months, industry data showed.
Tin added 0.7 per cent to end at $US14,645.
