The base metals mostly posted green numbers on Tuesday. Copper rose from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning in New York, dipped a bit, but then continued upward, finishing just off its intraday highs at $2.1851/lb., up 4 2/3 cents.

Base metals were all winners on Thursday. Copper jumped more than 8 cents to close at $1.7828/lb. Nickel added nearly 8 and one-half cents to finish at $4.5027/lb. Zinc tacked on 3 pennies, ending at $0.5618/lb. Aluminum gained about 3 and two-thirds cents, closing at $0.6490/lb., while lead moved to $0.6010/lb., up 1 and one-third cents from the previous session.