Copper higher

Melbourne/Sydney: LME copper hit the highest since Jan. 4 at $7,226 a tonne, trading up 1.6 percent, as of 0402 GMT. Prices have oscillated around the range of $7,070-$7,315 since late December notably due to resilient demand from China.

While China´s copper imports fell by 8.2 percent in December, this was mostly due to base effect, after last year´s imports were particularly strong, said ANZ.

"Last month´s volumes still represent the third highest over the past two years, suggesting demand remains robust."

Shanghai Futures Exchange copper shed earlier losses to rise 0.2 percent to 54,810 yuan ($8,533) a tonne.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange climbed on Monday, buoyed as the U.S. dollar came under pressure from expectations the European Central Bank (ECB) may soon start trimming monetary stimulus.