Mining Winners: Freeport, Rio Tinto

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Mining stocks rose sharply Monday as a weakening dollar continued to push commodities prices higher.

Over the weekend, the Group of 20 nations pledged further global economic stimulus, while at the same time comments out of the powwow of finance ministers in Scotland indicated that they would make no coordinated move to support the dollar. This follows similar signals last week from the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee.

Investors therefore continued to bid up commodities, including precious and base metals, which are widely viewed as a hedge against inflation and the declining value of the greenback relative to other currencies.

Meanwhile, the world's biggest copper miner, Chile's Codelco, said it hiked the premiums it charges customers in Japan and South Korea to $75 a ton from $65, a sign that demand for the metal has strengthened. It was the first increase in premiums since 2007, before the crash.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery, the most heavily traded contract, jumped 1% to $2.9815.

Gold futures, meanwhile, also rose sharply, adding $10.40 on the December contract and broaching the $1,100-per-ounce mark. The contracts were trading recently at $1106.10.