HANOI: Copper prices rose to their highest in two weeks on Tuesday, as top producer Chile's decision to close its border amid rising COVID-19 cases raised further supply concerns in an already tight market.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 3.6% to $9,104 a tonne, its highest since March 23.

The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also hit its highest in two weeks, advancing as much as 2.3% to 67,670 yuan ($10,308.32) a tonne.

Chile closed its borders and tightened an already strict lockdown last week to slow the spread of COVID-19 and stop the influx of contagious new variants as cases climbed past 1 million despite one of the world's fastest vaccination rates.

Meanwhile, tin prices jumped 3.7% to $26,045 a tonne in London and 3.6% to 186,790 yuan a tonne in Shanghai at 0120 GMT on supply worries after China restricted movements in a border city with Myanmar as COVID-19 cases rose.

Myanmar is the world's third-biggest miner of tin and in 2020 accounted for more than 95% of imports of tin concentrate into China, the world's biggest metals consumer.

FUNDAMENTALS

LME aluminium rose 1.2% to $2,253 a tonne, LME nickel advanced 2.8% to $16,670 a tonne, while ShFE nickel was up 2.7% at 126,080 yuan a tonne.

MARKETS NEWS

Asian equities are poised to rise after the S&P 500 and Dow indexes set records as a streak of strong US economic data fueled optimism even as a smaller-than-expected climb in 10-year Treasury notes eased inflation concerns.