Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $6,522 a tonne at 1021 GMT from a close of $6,480 on Friday, when the metal fell nearly 3 percent after mixed economic data raised concerns over the pace of global recovery.

Data released overnight showed HSBC¡¯s China Purchasing Managers¡¯ Index (PMI) rose to an 18-month high in October from September, pointing to sustained strength in the country¡¯s manufacturing sector. ¨ûID:nSEO80466¨ü

The numbers helped offset Friday figures which showed U.S. consumer spending fell in September and sentiment turned gloomier in October. ¨ûID:nN30482062¨ü

¡°The market got a bit carried away (on Friday), U.S. spending was always going to fall after the cash for clunkers (autos) expired but sales from Ford were good in October, I¡¯m not that concerned,¡± said David Thurtell, analyst at Citigroup.

¡°We have to wait and see what the U.S. ISM does. I still think we¡¯re going to see fresh cycle highs next year.¡±

The dollar fell against a basket of currencies on Monday, making dollar-priced metals cheaper for non-U.S. investors, while U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street. ¨ûUSD/¨ü ¨ûID:nL2283544¨ü

Rising stock markets are seen as a proxy for economic activity and tend to push up metal prices.

¡°The market was nervous going into this week but the Chinese PMI was a good start. The global economy is rebounding, our view is positive,¡± said Credit Suisse analyst Tobias Merath.

He added, however: ¡°Inventories are rising, everybody is asking how can inventories increase with supply side outages, that¡¯s also why we had this jumpiness last week.¡±

Latest LME data showed copper stocks fell 25 tonnes but remained at a total 372,175 tonnes, near May¡¯s highs.

Investors will closely eye U.S. numbers this week including manufacturing ISM, a Federal Reserve rate decision, payrolls numbers and automotive sales. ¨ûMTL/DIARY¨ü

Zinc in favour

Zinc , used to galvanise steel, was up at $2,185 from $2,160, recovering from falls Friday when data that showed Shanghai zinc stocks surged to 145,536 tonnes from 117,706 in the prior week.

The surge was a result of a stockholder putting material into the exchange to exploit stronger prices and the 300-400 yuan contango between the first and the third month, which covers the cost of storage, insurance and interest on the metal.

¡°We expect more stocks to flow in as the contango is very large. But the buying interest from speculators is still strong, despite the stocks rise,¡± the Shanghai trader said.

Zinc ended October 9.7 percent higher, its biggest monthly rise since July. Earlier this session, the metal hit a one week low of $2,132.

Among other industrial metals, aluminium , used in transport and packaging, was flat at $1,910, having earler hit a two week-low $1,885.

LME stocks of the metal fell 3,500 tonnes but held near a record 4.5 million tonnes. In industry news, Russia¡¯s UC RUSAL, the world¡¯s biggest aluminium producer, has signed a deal to supply 1.68 million tonnes of the metal to China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) in 2010-16. ¨ûID:nL259328¨ü

Battery material lead was at $2,296 from $2,305, tin was flat at $14,700, and steel-making ingredient nickel was down at $18,155 from $18,250 amid a 2,706 tonne rise in LME stocks to 129,528 tonnes.