Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Copper climbed for the first time in three days as a surge in Chinese imports boosted investors’ optimism that a global economic revival is under way. Aluminum, zinc, lead and nickel also advanced.

China, the largest metals user, imported 369,368 metric tons of copper and its products in December, 27 percent more than in November, according to the customs bureau. The nation’s exports of all products climbed for the first time in 14 months and overall imports jumped to a record, adding to signs of a global economic revival.

“The data certainly suggests the world economy is well on its way to recovering,” said Shi Hai, an analyst at Shanghai Tonglian Futures Co. “The data has reaffirmed investors’ belief that China will continue to lead the rebound.”

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange gained as much as 2.9 percent to $7,675 a ton and traded at $7,661 at 3:35 p.m. in Singapore. The metal used in cars and construction reached $7,796 a ton on Jan. 7, the highest price since Aug. 22, 2008.

March-delivery copper on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained as much as 2.6 percent to $3.49 a pound. April-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 3 percent to 62,520 yuan ($9,156) a ton, and ended the day at 62,170 yuan.

Copper more than doubled last year after China’s $586 billion stimulus spending spurred raw-material purchases and drove imports to record levels.

Technical Charts

Technical charts that some traders use to try to forecast price movements suggested further strength in the metal. “We expect copper prices to trend higher towards $8,940,” Standard Chartered Bank said, citing trading patterns. Copper reached a record $8,940 a ton on July 2, 2008.

The so-called 50-week momentum indicator continues to turn higher and supports higher prices, as does the rising 14-day relative strength index, London-based Dan Smith, the bank’s metal analyst, wrote in a Jan. 8 report. The stochastic indicator and MACD lines are also signaling a “buy,” he said.

Metal prices also gained today as the dollar dropped for a second day to a three-week low against a basket of six currencies, including the euro and yen. The U.S. currency declined to $1.4533 against the euro, the weakest since Dec. 17, and last traded at $1.4491.

Still, copper prices dropped 2.6 percent in the final two days of trading last week after China’s central bank guided three-month bill yields higher for the first time since August, suggesting that the government wants to curb lending to limit the risk of property speculation and resurgent inflation.

“China is still in danger of asset price bubbles and last year’s easy credit days are coming to an end as the government moves to rein in liquidity,” said Shi from Shanghai Tonglian.

On the LME, aluminum rose 2.2 percent to $2,335 a ton, zinc gained 3.8 percent to $2,612 a ton, and lead climbed 3.1 percent to $2,610 a ton. Nickel advanced 2.8 percent to $18,400 a ton, and tin added 2.2 percent to $17,715 a ton by 3:04 p.m. in Singapore.

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