Upbeat European and U.S. economic data caused a considerable increase in the prices of copper and aluminium at the London Metal Exchange (LME). When the open-outcry trading closed on Friday, three-month copper was up 1.1 per cent from the day's $7,094 per metric tonne.

Aluminium also went up 1.1 per cent and closed at $1,909 a tonne.

The boost in the prices of these two commodities came from the sharp rebound in German business sentiment for November with the lfo's business confidence index going up 109.3 from 103.7 in October. It beat analysts' forecast of 107.7.

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Positive shifts in economic data affect prices of industrial metal used in different applications in many sectors of any given economy. Aluminium and copper prices previously plummeted to multi-month lows earlier last week over jitters about Chinese demand and the anticipated withdrawal of economic stimulus measures in the U.S.

Barclay Bank analysts said that recent price declines for metals, including nickel and aluminium, toward 2013 lows left room for higher prices moving into 2014.

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