copper price up

Base metals have closed higher on the London Metal Exchange (LME), lifted out of a mid-session rut by a stronger-than-expected manufacturing reading from the US.

At the PM kerb close, flagship three-month copper was 2.3 per cent higher on the day at $US8,640 a metric ton, having earlier hit a two-and-a-half-week peak at $US8,653/ton.

Nickel saw similar gains, closing 2.2 per cent higher at $US18,220/ton.



The US manufacturing sector's expansion continued in March, according to data released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management.

The ISM's manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose last month to 53.4 from 52.4 in February, beating expectations and boosting confidence in the health of the world's largest economy.

The news sent the growth-sensitive industrial metals higher. After initially gaining following the weekend's strong Chinese manufacturing PMI reading, the metals had spent much of the session drifting between positive and negative territory in lacklustre trade.

"After Chinese data, this was the reading we'd been waiting for," a London-based trader said.

"It's definitely good news."

Copper's break above tough resistance at $US8,600/ton escalated gains as some investors were forced to cover their short positions, added the trader.

Still, copper remains in its wider range of $US8,100/ton-$US8,800/ton -- an area the red metal has been trading in for around two-and-a-half months.

"Looking at the copper charts is a bit like watching paint dry, with prices still stuck in a relatively tight trading range," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said.

"We do not see much happening over the short-term," he added.