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Copper HG-FT prices rose above $6,500 (U.S.) on Monday, underpinned by a weaker U.S. dollar and strong manufacturing data from China, with investors at the sidelines ahead of U.S. manufacturing data.

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 per cent 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. The numbers helped offset Friday figures which showed U.S. consumer spending fell in September and sentiment turned gloomier in October.

“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. 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.

Zinc, used to galvanize 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 per cent higher, its biggest monthly rise since July. Earlier this session, the metal hit a one week low of $2,132.

Among other industrial metals, aluminum AL-FT , used in transport and packaging, was flat at $1,910, having earlier 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 aluminum producer, has signed a deal to supply 1.68 million tonnes of the metal to China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) in 2010-16.

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.