SHANGHAI - Copper from London to Shanghai rose for a second day, nearing an all-time high, on speculation that further signs of an improvement in the US economy will boost the outlook for demand for the metal used in pipes and wires.

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Copper for three-month delivery advanced as much as 2.1 percent to $9,257.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange (LME).

"The majority of LME's stockpiles being held by one single company has created an artificially tight physical market," Wang Ning, an analyst at Xiangyu Futures Co, said from Shanghai. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper for March delivery closed 0.85 percent higher at 68,640 yuan ($10,283) a ton on Monday.

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