Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was trading at $4,006/$4,011 per tonne, up from $3,975 at the close in London on Friday.
The metal had touched $4,015 in the session, just off a record high of $4,018. "It's limited fund buying from the United States, although this movement is difficult to explain as the US dollar is up and US rates will probably keep going up," a Tokyo trader said by phone.
Another rise in Chinese stocks was reported last week, with Shanghai adding almost 17,500 tonnes. China copper prices had pared more than 1.5 percent in the past two weeks on State plans to sell metal to the market.
Shanghai copper futures rose strongly across the board, with the most active January contract gaining 440 yuan to trade at 37,000 yuan per tonne.
While many still talk of an inevitable correction, others say there is still more upside for the red metal, which has already enjoyed a two-year bull run on soaring China demand and supply problems.
"Medium to longer term bull trends remain firmly intact and while prices are currently experiencing an extended period of choppy re-consolidation, there is little evidence of a top as yet," a Singapore trading house said in a daily report.
The house saw resistance at $4,015/$4,020. Aluminium was at $2,025/$2,030, steady with the London close of $2,027, but off a new high of $2,040 hit last week, the highest level since February 1995.
Zinc was steady at $1,568/$1,573, hovering near a new eight-year high of $1,576.
Lead was indicated at $976/$981, nickel $11,675/$11,825, while tin was at $6,325/6,400.