Aluminum peaked within a month

Aluminum hit a 1-month high and copper also gained as speculators bought metals amid a weakening dollar, which came under pressure from signals that US interest rates would hold.

Nickel, however, has resisted a stronger trend as investors were aware of the impact of environmental audits on Philippine mines.

The dollar index fell to a seven-week low after the US Federal Reserve said it would have to raise inflation targets, focus more on growth and a much looser fiscal policy going forward.

London Metal Exchange and its benchmark - copper gained 0.4 percent to $ 4,786 a tonne on Monday, hitting a monthly low of $ 4,750.50 last Friday. In three months on the LME, aluminum rose 0.7 percent to $ 1,688, the highest since July 15, while lead added 0.2 percent to $ 1,870 after touching $ 1,874.50, its strongest level since July 21.

Aluminum was aiming for its peak in July at $ 1703, according to a report from Commerzbank. Recent advances in the two metals have triggered signals to buy funds, many of which use algorithms based on momentum and other technical signals. Zinc was down 0.7 percent to $ 2,249.50 and tin prices remained unchanged at $ 18,240.