London copper and aluminium prices rose slightly along with other metals on Thursday, with investors looking to potential stimulus spending in China after weak retail and credit growth data in October. “Following the release of weak credit data ... the market expects stronger policy support over the coming months,” Alastair Munro of Marex Spectron said in a note.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had risen 0.4 per cent to $6,113 a tonne by 0126 GMT, while the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.4 per cent to 49,180 yuan ($7,076) a tonne. Prices of aluminium, zinc, lead and tin also increased.

The outlook for copper demand in the mid to long term remains healthy despite current trade friction between China and the United States as a renewable energy revolution will require vast amount of the metal, industry executives said.

Global miner Rio Tinto is among parties making a final offer for a minority stake in Teck Resources Ltd's Quebrada Blanca copper mine expansion in northern Chile, a development worth $4.8 billion, two sources close to the matter said.

China, the leading holder of international deep sea exploration licences, has increased its lead in the race for alternative sources of battery minerals by taking samples from cobalt-bearing mountains deep in the Pacific. Global zinc market deficit narrowed to 54,700 tonnes in September from a revised deficit of 81,800 tonnes in August, data from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group showed.

Asian stocks edged up as a steep slide in crude oil prices which had chilled investor sentiment slowed, while the pound and euro were supported after British Prime Minister Theresa May gained Cabinet support for a Brexit deal.

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