Among other LME metals, aluminium slipped 0.1%, while zinc rose 0.5%, lead gained 0.7%, nickel advanced 0.4% and tin climbed 0.6%.
SHFE aluminium rose 0.4%, zinc gained 0.4%, lead jumped 1.9%, nickel advanced 1.4% and tin climbed 1.6%.
($1 = 6.7074 Chinese yuan)
Premiums and LME market conditions
The pickup in demand was reflected in stronger physical premiums. The domestic copper premium SMM-CU-PND, paid over the SHFE price, climbed to 645 yuan a ton on Wednesday, its highest since December 2023.
The Yangshan copper premium SMM-CUYP-CN, a gauge of Chinese demand for imported copper, rose to $118 a ton on Wednesday, its highest in nearly four years.
A stronger U.S. dollar =USD following the Fed's rate hike remained a broader headwind for metals. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, as widely expected.
Policymakers projected one more rate increase this year and steady rates in 2027, while also raising their near-term inflation forecasts.
Elsewhere, the LME spread CMCU0-3 remained in contango, though cash copper's discount to three-month narrowed to around $4 a ton. Copper stocks MCUSTX-TOTAL in sheds monitored by the London bourse rose to 254,150 tons as of Tuesday, indicating easing LME tightness.
Copper rises as China demand improves
Copper rose on Thursday as signs of improving physical demand in top consumer China outweighed pressure from the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hike.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4% to $14,295.50 a metric ton as of 0715 GMT. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trade 1% higher at 108,500 yuan ($16,176.16) a ton.
Physical copper demand in China has shown signs of improvement as the price pullback from last week's highs gave buyers an opportunity to restock, traders said.
LME copper has fallen about 4% from a record high of $14,875 hit last week, while its Shanghai peer remains about 3.4% below last week's high of 112,330 yuan.
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