Copper gained today, buoyed by a softer dollar following weak economic data out of the United States and output disruptions in producer Chile.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $US9,166 a tonne by 0920 GMT from a close of $US9,099 on Friday. There was no trade on the Shanghai Futures Exchange due to a one-day holiday in China.
"What we're seeing today is a bit of a rebound after rather bad US data ... which has weighed on the dollar and given support to the euro," Danske Bank analyst Christin Tuxen said.
Friday data showed US payrolls rose by 54,000 in May, the softest reading since September and the jobless rate rose to 9.1 per cent in May from 9 per cent in April.
The euro was near a one-month high against the dollar, boosted by progress over Greek debt financing and a potential widening of interest rate differentials, enticing hedge funds to buy the single currency.
A cheaper dollar makes metals cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Support also emerged after news Chile's fourth biggest copper mine, Codelco's El Teniente, was producing at less than half of capacity for a second day after most staff workers stayed home to avoid violence by striking contractors.
El Teniente, which produces about 2.5 per cent of the world's mined copper or 404,000 tonnes-a-year, continued to work with a skeleton staff to keep production at 40 per cent of capacity by processing stocked material.
In producer country Peru, left-wing former army commander Ollanta Humala was headed for victory in a presidential election and struck a conciliatory tone as investors and opponents worry he will ruin a long economic boom.
"Humala's campaign has included a pledge to increase Peru's income from its natural resources sector, with windfall taxes on mining profits and reduced exportation of natural gas," Liberum Capital said in a note.
"The most exposed of the miners to Peru are Xstrata and Hochschild and we expect a period of underperformance until the fiscal implications are clearer."
It said it expected Humala's win to be bullish in the short term for copper prices with Peru currently accounting for about 8 per cent of world copper mine production.
Chinese Demand
LME copper inventories rose 2,225 tonnes to 475,700 tonnes, their highest in more than a year, data showed.
Macquarie said it had held a China Commodities conference last week where "it was widely agreed... that the Chinese economy and demand for key commodities are set for slower growth in 2011 ... given the central government's strong desire to fight inflation and cool the pace of growth."
"However, a lack of new supply growth for copper and iron ore will ensure that prices remain at elevated levels for the rest of 2011 and into 2012," it added.
Zinc was at $US2,290.75 a tonne, after hitting its highest since end-April at $US2,315, from $US2,258 a tonne. Last week, LCH.Clearnet lowered margins for zinc, steel and molybdenum on the LME.
Lead rose 2.5 per cent to $US2,493 making it the strongest performer of the day, from a Friday close of $US2,432.
Traders put the market's performance down to volatility in thin trading, possibly a result of fund buying.
Tin, used in electronic solder, was at $US26,450 from $US26,400 a tonne. Nickel traded at $US22,891 from $US22,800 a tonne and aluminium was at $US2,659 from $US2,637 a tonne.
