The price of copper rose to its highest level in 16 months in afternoon trade in London on Wednesday.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up $250.25 to $7,735.25 per tonne in late afternoon trade, while March copper added 8 cents to $3.49 per pound in New York.

The gains came on new data, including a report Tuesday that factory orders in the United States are up and, separately, that car sales in the US were trending higher as 2009 ended, and even though LME inventories of the metal used in manufacturing and construction gained 2,050 tonnes to 507,400 tonnes, an indication that demand remains weak.

Aluminium, zinc, lead, tin and nickel prices all also saw gains.

Among precious metals, February gold added $17.80 to $1,136.50 per troy ounce, March silver was up 38 cents to $18.18 per troy ounce and April platinum gained $20.10 to $1,557.90 per troy ounce.