Copper climbed Thursday to its highest level in 20 months, as strong manufacturing data in Asia, Europe and the United States bolstered demand prospects on the first day of the second quarter.
Copper for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division settled up 3.05 cents (U.S.) at $3.5840 a pound. May copper peaked at $3.6060 a pound, a high for the second-position contract on a continuation basis since early August, 2008.
On the London Metal Exchange, benchmark copper ended at $7,885 a tonne from $7,780 at Wednesday's close.
The metal used in power and construction hit a session peak of $7,939.75, a high dating back to August, 2008, and crept closer toward the $8,000 level.
Data in China, the world's largest industrial metals consumer, showed a manufacturing sector pickup in March.
Factories also showed strength in Europe and the United States. The Institute for Supply Management reported U.S. manufacturing grew in March at its fastest pace in more than five years.
Taken together, the data pointed to a "synchronized global industrial recovery", said Bart Melek, Global Commodity Strategist with BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto.
"For copper, demand is moving higher and the global economy is recovering," he said. "Now there are increasing signals coming out of the U.S. that the recovery is a lot better than it was.
"All of that is leading to greater demand expectations."
Falling LME inventories have helped sentiment in recent weeks, with copper stockpiles shedding another 1,875 tonnes on Thursday to 512,450 tonnes, having hit 6-1/2 year highs at 555,075 in mid-February.
Aluminum was untraded at the close, but bid at $2,351 against $2,323 on Wednesday. Earlier on Thursday it touched $2,366 a tonne, the highest since mid-January.
LME stocks of aluminum, used in transport and packaging, are down more than 46,000 tonnes to 4.59 million tonnes, since a record high above 4.64 million tonne on Jan 21.
A large portion of those aluminum stocks are tied up in finance deals, to release cash for producers and to earn banks higher returns than in money markets.
"Most people think that due to ... falling LME inventories, the prices are going higher - but it's false," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. "It is very typical for bubbles, that the price reaction is being mistaken for fundamentals."
Nickel surged 34.9 per cent in the first quarter, outperforming other LME metals, on expectations of stronger demand from stainless steel mills.
Three-month nickel hit a near two-year high at $25,714 a tonne earlier on Thursday. It closed at $25,050 a tonne from $24,995 at the close on Wednesday.
A series of strikes, project delays and production problems are expected to send the nickel market into deficit in 2010, the first time in four years.
LME nickel stocks hit a record high above 166,000 tonnes in early February and are now at 157,512 tonnes.
"Nickel production over the past few months has been performing much weaker than the rest of the base metals," said Gayle Berry, an analyst at Barclays Capital.
"This recovery in demand is only just getting going ... declines that you see in stocks are likely to continue."
Investors are also keeping close tabs on LME data, which showed a dominant position controlling between 50-80 per cent of cash warrants for nickel, tin and lead.
Battery material lead closed at $2,190 from $2,145 on Wednesday, having earlier hit near two-week highs at $2,224.
Zinc touched $2,434, its highest in more than two months, and ended at $2,404 from $2,375.
Tin closed at an unchanged $18,450, having earlier hit $18,750, a level last seen since September, 2008.