Copper stable

Melbourne

LME copper was flat at $6,379 a tonne, having closed a tad softer and still below its most recent 2-1/2 year top of $6,515.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper was little changed, but zinc and aluminium were traded up around 2 percent. London zinc hit its highest in almost a decade on Wednesday, as Chinese infrastructure demand that has fed a rally in steel prices for months spills into markets for steelmaking raw materials.

The rally in zinc, used for galvanising steel, comes as China steps up plans to develop infrastructure while capacity cuts in its steel industry reform boost prices, said analyst Daniel Hynes of ANZ in Sydney.

"There (was) a fair level of scepticism at the start of the year when China´s infrastructure projects were announced but we´re seeing much better-than-expected growth in fixed asset investment," said Hynes.