Copper futures have settled near one-month highs on the London Metal Exchange (LME), buoyed by hopes for improving Chinese metals demand and a softer US dollar.

At the PM kerb close on Tuesday, LME three-month copper was up 0.4 per cent at $US7,158.50 a metric ton. The metal earlier peaked at $US7,188 a ton, its highest price since November 11. Aluminium closed 0.6 per cent higher at $US1,803 a ton. Copper prices on Tuesday benefited from a solid batch of Chinese economic data, said analysts.

Value-added industrial output in China rose 10 per cent in November from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. This was in line with the median economist forecast, but a touch less than the 10.3 per cent on-year gain recorded in October.

November retail sales, meanwhile, rose more than expected.

China is the world's biggest consumer of metals like copper, making metals prices sensitive to economic news and data from the region.

A weaker US dollar also lent some support to metals, which are priced in dollars and are, therefore, more affordable in other currencies when the greenback weakens.

The US dollar fell to a six-week low against the euro amid renewed concerns about US budget talks and continued focus on the Federal Reserve's December 17-18 monetary policy meeting.