Copper rebounded from this year's low, and zinc and lead gained on expectation that China, the largest user, may slow the pace of monetary tightening after ordering banks to set aside more cash for the fifth time this year.

The metal for three-month delivery gained as much as 1.6 percent to $8,866.50 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, and traded at $8,861 at 3:20 p.m. Singapore time. The contract, which dropped to a five-month low of $8,504.50 yesterday, is little changed this week after falling for two straight weeks. All six LME metals rose, joining a rally in commodities including silver and cotton, as German economic growth exceeded estimates.

"The market has been pricing in some kind of tightening measure in China, so when it finally happens investors feel as if they can move on," said Huang Jianyun, an analyst at Maike Futures Co. "With every step they make, it potentially reduces the need for further moves."

The People's Bank of China yesterday raised banks' reserve requirements for the fifth time this year. The half-point increase takes effect May 18 and will boost levels for the nation's biggest lenders to a record 21 percent.

China will raise borrowing costs only once more this year, after four increases in the past seven months, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG predicted yesterday. Higher interest rates may damp growth while also attracting speculative capital, or "hot money," to the fastest-growing major economy, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's economist Lu Ting.

Gross domestic product in Germany, Europe's largest economy, jumped 1.5 percent in the first quarter, the statistics office said today. This is up from 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter and more than the 0.9 percent median of 30 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

Aluminum in London advanced 0.7 percent to $2,632 a ton, zinc increased 2.8 percent to $2,203 a ton and lead gained 1.6 percent to $2,345 a ton. Nickel climbed 1.2 percent to $24,850 a ton, and tin increased 1.2 percent to $29,650 a ton.