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Copper jumped more than 5 percent in New York, while zinc and nickel prices gained in London on metals demand from investment funds. Gold and silver also gained.

``We've got the return of the funds,'' said Robin Bhar, an analyst in London at UBS AG. ``They've been loaded up with cash from investors.''

The price of copper reached a record in May, partly on demand from pension systems and mutual funds seeking returns unavailable in the stock and bond markets. Commodity-linked mutual funds are growing by about $500 million a month in the U.S., according to Matthew Schwab, managing director at American International Group Inc.'s financial products unit in Wilton, Connecticut.

Copper futures for December delivery gained 18.4 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $3.645 a pound at 9:14 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices reached $4.04, the highest ever, on May 11.

Copper for delivery in three months rose $360, or 4.7 percent, to $8,010 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. The metal breached $8,000 for the first time since Aug. 11. Prices have more than doubled in the past year.

Zinc rose $170, or 4.9 percent, to $3,645 a ton on the LME. Nickel gained $1,000, or 3.6 percent, to $28,600 a ton. Gold and silver both gained 2.1 percent in New York.

Copper also climbed on speculation supply won't keep pace with growing demand as manufacturers increase consumption after a summer lull.

``Industrial activity picks up because you have vacation shutdowns,'' said Bhar. ``They will now start to gear up.''

While global copper stockpiles climbed 23 percent to 189,462 tons since the end of July, inventories remain ``seasonally low,'' said John Meyer, an analyst at London-based Numis Securities Ltd.

Chilean Copper

Workers at Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine in Chile, returned to work Sept. 2 after a strike that lasted almost four weeks and halved production. Wage negotiations later this year at mines including Chile's state-owned Codelco may help to keep prices high, Meyer said.

``Demand is the key to the current market, with the potential supply disruption being the catalyst to continuing high prices,'' Meyer said. ``The supply deficit looks likely to continue for the next six to 12 months.''

Metals had dropped from records, partly on concern that rising global interest rates may slow economic growth and curb demand for. China, the world's biggest copper consumer, on Aug. 18 raised its key rate in an effort to rein in growth. The economy grew 11 percent in the second quarter, the most in more than a decade.

Still, ``you won't see a slowdown overnight'' because global economic growth remains strong, Bahr of UBS said.

`Another Rally'

``There are all the ingredients for another rally in prices,'' Bhar said. ``Strong fundamentals are offsetting any worries about growth.''

Zinc stockpiles monitored by the LME have dropped 57 percent this year, while nickel inventories have fallen 84 percent.

``Zinc has the strong fundamentals,'' and nickel ``has got rapidly dwindling stocks,'' Bhar said.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $13 to $645.60 an ounce on Comex. Silver for December gained 27 cents to $13.35 an ounce.