Copper prices rose to a near three-week high on Wednesday, supported by a weaker US dollar and hopes of a strong demand outlook in top metals consumer China following Beijing’s efforts to boost its economy and property sector.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5% at $8,539 per metric ton by 0334 GMT, after hitting its highest since Feb. 2 earlier in the session.

The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 0.8% to 68,940 yuan ($9,598.33) a ton.

“The weaker USD since yesterday is supporting the markets and some investors are also using base metals as a proxy to express their bullish view on China sentiment,” a Singapore-based metals trader said.

The dollar weakened broadly on Wednesday as it tracked a global decline in bond yields.

A weaker US currency makes dollar-priced metals less expensive for holders of other currencies.

Copper makes modest gains after China cuts mortgage rates

China announced its biggest reduction in the benchmark mortgage rate on Tuesday as authorities sought to prop up the struggling property market and the broader economy.

With China’s return from the Lunar New Year holiday break, traders and analysts will be looking for demand clues over the coming weeks and prospects of a pick-up in construction activity as winter draws to an end.

The global refined copper market showed a 20,000-metric-ton surplus in December, the International Copper Study Group said in its latest monthly bulletin.

Meanwhile, LME aluminium climbed 2.7% to a three-week high of $2,253 a ton, while nickel gained 1.5% to $16,595, zinc was up 1.1% at $2,406, lead gained 0.7% to $2,062.50 and tin rose 0.9% to $26,650.

SHFE aluminium edged 1.4% higher to 18,980 yuan a ton, nickel was up 0.5% at 127,840 yuan, tin rose 0.9% to 219,240 yuan, zinc gained 0.4% to 20,420 yuan, while lead was steady at 15,855 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click or