Bearish investors scrambled to close out positions by buying futures, but analysts said it was uncertain whether Glencore's move to close some African copper operations for 18 months would create a trend.

"It's probably not enough to see prices go up (substantially), but it certainly supports the market," said Grant Sporre, head of metals research at Deutsche Bank in London.

"It also ensures that copper is probably not going to fall in the same way that iron ore and met (metallurgical) coal have done."

Sporre had forecast a global copper supply/demand surplus of 350,000 tonnes for next year, and since Glencore's move is expected to remove 300,000 tonnes in 2016, he said it would bring the market close to balance.

Glencore's mine closures, which were due to remove 400,000 tonnes of copper cathode from the market over 18 months, were part of a wider initiative that included suspending dividends, selling assets and raising $2.5 billion (2 billion pounds) in a new share issue as it aimed to slash debt.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had climbed 0.5 percent to $5,144.50 a tonne by 1413 GMT, cutting 2.4 percent losses from the previous session. Trade was thin with U.S. markets closed for the Labor Day holiday.

There have been signs of a pick-up in copper demand from mainland China, said analyst Dan Morgan of UBS in Sydney.

"Merchant premia in China have lifted quite strongly which, with prices being relatively cheaper now, suggests we might see a little bit of a lift in copper imports."

But technical analyst Cliff Green, who examines charts to glean future trends, said the current rally was probably temporary after lifting copper from a six-year low of $4,855 last month.

"There is no evidence at this stage that the bear cycle (in copper) is over and my targets in the $4,700 and even $4,400 areas are still readable," he told the Reuters Global Base Metal Forum.

Most other LME metals were weaker ahead of Chinese economic data in coming days that analysts say could point to further economic weakness.

Aluminium dipped 0.2 percent to $1,605 a tonne, zinc shed 0.2 percent to $1,782 but lead added 0.2 percent to $1,669.

(Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)

By Eric Onstad