Base metals were boosted by news that the Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai had eased, zinc and aluminium each rose by more than 2%, while copper gained 1.4%.
Nickel dropped for a third consecutive session to $26,328 per tonne. The metal has managed to rise in only two sessions so far in May and is trading at its lowest level since early March.
Despite Tesla boss and the world's richest man, Elon Musk, warning of a US recession earlier this week, positive economic data quelled those fears.
Retail sales and manufacturing data was better than expected.
"Solid US data alleviated fears of an imminent slowdown, but bolstered expectations for how much work the Fed may need to do," ANZ Research said. The S&P 500 rose 2%.
