LME copper ended up $75 at $7,465/mt, extending its own recovery from Friday's one-month low of $7,194.

"Fund money and the dollar – the two matter a lot for the metals markets," said Andrey Kryuchenkov at VTB Capital. "You have this short-term downtrend in copper which is squeezing the market as it's trying to push higher," he said.

"There is still a lot of uncertainty with respect to the economy given some of the regulatory pressures, not only against the banks, but also speculative positions," said Steve Platt, futures analyst with Archer Financial Services in Chicago.

"China is another source for concern," he added. "Their stock market has really done very little and I think that is a sign that maybe the market is somewhat exhausted and nervous about any kind of retrenchment in credit."

"Stainless producers are cutting back again," a metals trader said. "There is going to be a very large surplus in the nickel market this year."

Aluminium traded at $2,243/mt, up $11.

"Premiums for physical material are rising because consumers are having to scramble for material, which is tight. It sounds bizarre, but that's a fact of today's market," said Robin Bhar, an analyst at Calyon.

Zinc closed at $2,315/mt on Friday, $35 down, lead was bid at $2,220/mt, down $17 and tin traded at $17,940/mt, $165 up.