Copper rises

Sydney

Three-month London Metal Exchange (LME)  copper was trading two percent higher at a fresh
34-month high of $6,791 a tonne, amid signs of declining spare metal in warehouses. Weekly copper stocks in warehouses registered by the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined by 8.2 percent to 187,444 tonnes CU-STX-SGH.

Meanwhile, on-warrant inventories - those not earmarked for removal - in LME depots have halved to 112,950 tonnes over the past six weeks MCUSTX-TOTAL, data last week showed. ShFE copper gained 0.7 percent.

Chinese nickel futures led most base metals higher on Tuesday, helped by a resurgent market for steel. Nickel, chiefly used in making stainless steel, has been on a tear, rising 27 percent in price since early July on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.