HANOI: London copper prices rose on Tuesday as a US stimulus package buoyed investor sentiment, but worries about a more contagious new strain of the coronavirus in Britain kept a lid on gains.

The US House of Representatives passed an $892 billion coronavirus aid package on Monday to help support its economy, clearing the way for Senate approval later in the evening, while the White House said President Donald Trump will sign the bill.

A stimulus package from the world's biggest economy is expected to boost demand for industrial metals.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.7% to $7,899 a tonne by 0330 GMT.

However, the most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.7% to 58,850 yuan ($8,984.73) a tonne, tracking overnight losses in London as the new strain of the virus unnerved markets.

The emergence of the new virus strain, which is up to 70% more transmissible, prompted several countries to close their borders with Britain on Monday.