The price of copper has risen as investors expect demand to outstrip supply in the coming months.
Bloomberg reports that three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed one per cent to $9,424 a metric tonne in commodities trading, while metal for May delivery in New York rose 0.6 per cent.
Hwang Il Doo, senior trader at Korea Exchange Bank Futures in Seoul, told the news agency that a supply shortage is helping boost copper prices.
"Copper was still trading in a recent range amid an absence of Chinese traders, while forecasts for a supply deficit this year are lending support to prices," he added.
Lead has risen to a near three-year high in commodity trading, with investors predicting that a spike in demand from Japan following the recent disasters in the country.
Elsewhere, silver has reached its highest price against gold since 1983, with rising inflation increasing demand for the precious metal.
