The March copper contract, the most active on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rose 790 yuan or 1.3 percent to 59,890 yuan ($8,239) a tonne at 0230 GMT.
"Supplies are tight after production cuts in two major smelters and delays to copper imports by Chinese customs," said a Hong Kong-based trader.
"The spot premium is holding at a high level, but high prices could restrict consumption," he added.
Traders in Shanghai said customs officials had declined to issue VAT receipts for some copper imports at the end of 2007, having hit annual tax revenue targets, which delayed some material.
Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange rose $90 to $6,990 a tonne.
"The steady close in metals on Monday is encouraging some buying," MF Global analyst Edward Meir said.
"This week is very light on the data front. and there shouldn't be too much selling coming into metals. We had a terrible number on Friday with the payrolls but the dollar should dominate direction this weak in absence other data," he added.
Copper hit a two-month high of $7,135 on Friday before weaker-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls numbers knocked the wind out of the market.
Stock moves are also expected to influence copper's course. Stocks of the metal rose 2,400 tonnes, breaking above the 200,000-tonne barrier for the first time since March last year. Nickel was steady at $28,200. Nickel, which has seen prices fall by as much as half since hitting a record high of $51,800 in May last year, is the strongest performer on the LME so far in 2008, rising 7 percent.
"Nickel is rebounding from a long-term double bottom located between $25,550 and $26,000. A rebound from this level finds resistance at $30,000." Daryl Guppy of Guppytraders.com said. He added that a successful break above $30,000 would be capped by long-term resistance near $34,000. From a fundamental perspective, dealers said rising stocks would keep downside pressure on sentiment.
LME STOCKS UP
LME stocks of the metal have risen steadily from around 8,400 tonnes in late June to 48,126 tonnes on Monday as stainless steel makers cut back on purchases or use nickel-containing pig iron as a substitute for refined nickel.
Zinc stocks also saw a hefty increase on Monday, rising 6,775 tonnes or 7.5 percent to 95,150 after a large delivery into Johor.
LME zinc
Prices could see support after a flood and cave-in at the San Vicente zinc mine run by Peru's San Ignacio de Morococha.
Shanghai March zinc rose 405 yuan or nearly 2 percent, to 20,825 yuan.
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