LONDON （Dow Jones）--Base metals closed mostly higher on the London Metals Exchange Tuesday following a day of relatively active copper trading that saw the price of the metal hit new record highs.
The LME's three-month copper contract closed at $9,365 a metric ton, up 1.8% on the day, after reaching a record price of $9,392 a metric ton earlier in the day.
Positive trade data from China and a bullish market sentiment following Monday's announcement that Chilean copper mine Dona Ines de Collahuasi had declared force majeure on its concentrate sales contracts due to a collapse at its port boosted copper, and pulled up the price of other metals in the complex in copper's wake.
"We're in a phase where everything is pretty quiet and there's a tendency for [metal prices] to follow each other," said Dan Smith of Standard Chartered Bank.
Anticipation over upcoming physically-backed exchange-traded products in copper also drove prices, Smith said, combined with a general increase in risk appetite. The latter was reflected in a rally in equities.
If copper continues to perform to its current levels, a breakout could be around the corner, said MF Global analyst Edward Meir in a note.
"Two closes above $9,267 [a metric ton], the previous high, should set the stage for a further advance," Meir said, adding that although it is "impossible to say" where the next upside target lies, $10,000 a metric ton would appear to be the "next logical target."
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