The base metals were little changed on Wednesday. Copper held up well through mid-morning, but declined when it counted, slipping to near its pre-dawn intraday low and finishing at $1.4922/lb., down a penny.

Nickel also experienced a late-day letdown, but not enough to bleed red as it closed at $5.214/lb., up 2 1/3 cents. Zinc had a modestly positive day, ending at $0.5244/lb., up three-quarters of a cent. Aluminum was steadily higher through most of the day, adding more than a penny to $0.6228/lb., while lead also edged higher, tacking on a penny at $0.5305/lb.

Copper was only a little bit off its highs on Wednesday, as reports of increased Chinese buying and general optimism kept the metal buoyed for a second straight day.

The metal responded positively to reports that China has started buying copper from domestic bonded warehouses and overseas markets, in a move expected to triple its state reserves to

Firm investment demand outweighs weak jewelery buying… Euro weakens on euro zone outlook… Oil prices tumble nearly 10 percent…

Gold swung into the black on Tuesday, rising more than 2 percent to a one-week high of $855.75 an ounce, amid market talk of a large order.

Firm investment demand for gold as a haven from risk is fueling buying of the precious metal, analysts said.

Spot gold was quoted at $853.00/855.00 an ounce at 1228 GMT, up from $834.55 late on Monday. Earlier it touched a low of $822.90, down more than 1 percent.

Standard Chartered analyst Daniel Smith said strong investor flows into products such as exchange-traded funds as investors sought more secure assets were offsetting weaker jewelery demand.

“People are slowly building long positions in gold and commodities more generally,” he said.

Gold managed shrugged off early weakness linked to a