The base metals all had a rare close in positive territory on Thursday. Copper bottomed during the pre-dawn hours, then forged a not unbroken but steadily higher trail through the day, finishing at its intraday high of $1.6223/lb., up 3½ cents.

It was a schizophrenic day for gold and silver, which could do little right during regular trading but couldn’t be stopped in the after hours action.

China’s stimulus package proves that the global infrastructure boom is not dead, says Justice Litle. And that’s big news for base metals like copper. These are essential for construction, and will soar as the world attempts to rebuild its economy. That makes strong base metal producers a bargain now.

The base metals were all deep in the red on Tuesday. Copper had another day of incessant down, with each tiny upblip met with immediate selling, leading to a finish barely off its intraday low at $1.5997/lb., down 10 cents. Nickel followed a similar path, except that it didn’t manage to escape its intraday low, closing right there at $4.6531/lb., down 29 2/3 cents.

The base metals were mostly lower on Monday. Copper held onto Friday’s close until the late pre-dawn hours, but then was off sharply, bottoming near $1.75 at mid-morning before rallying to a finish at $1.828/lb., down 6½ cents from Friday.

The base metals were mixed on Friday. Copper fell from the pre-dawn hours to the New York open, but rallied from there, regaining much of the lost ground though it failed to break even, finishing at $1.893/lb., down 4 1/3 cents.

The base metals were nearly all in positive territory on Tuesday. Copper prolonged its rally, with buying coming in on dips through the day, and finishing at its intraday high of $1.9204/lb., up more than 7 2/3 cents. Nickel soared in the afternoon hours, before easing a bit late to close at $5.2435/lb., up 23 1/3 cents.

The base metals were mixed on Thursday. Copper went on a wild ride, rising and falling sharply through a 10-cent range before settling little changed at $1.8571/lb., down just a penny.

The base metals were mixed on Friday. Copper was flat until the late morning, then shot upward, peaking around noon before flattening out after that to finish at $3.6656/lb., up 5 cents.

The base metals were mostly in the red on Thursday. Copper declined from the pre-dawn hours through to mid-morning, then rallied to finish at $3.6157/lb., down just more than 2 1/3 cents. Nickel prolonged its recent resurgence, rising steadily to push back over the $11 mark, closing at $11.0873/lb., up 61 cents.