FTSE hits 14-month closing high

By Tricia Wright

LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 .FTSE hit its highest closing level in more than 14 months on Monday as a weaker dollar sparked a rally in metals prices and some upbeat U.S. data lifted market sentiment.

The top share index ended up 86.29 points, or 1.6 percent, at 5,382.67, its highest close since September 2008 and notching up its fourth consecutive session of gains.

The index is only 0.6 percent below its level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in mid-September 2008 and has surged 55.5 percent from a six-year low in March.

Miners buoyed by metal price advances spearheaded a broad-based rally with gold hitting a record high near $1,135 an ounce.

Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Xstrata (XTA.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Randgold Resources (RRS.L) added 4.8 to 7.8 percent.

Lonmin (LMI.L) topped the blue-chip leader board, adding 9.3 percent, as the world's third-biggest platinum producer said it planned to boost output by a fifth by 2013 as prices climb on shortages.

"After struggling in recent weeks, the major indices today seem to have signalled that the eight-month recovery for share prices is not over and has spurred traders to get their buying hats back on," said Tim Hughes, head of sales trading at IG Index.

"After the strong gains seen today, there is scope for at least a slight pullback in the days ahead, but for now it looks likely this will be treated as an opportunity to buy into any dips on the belief that momentum really has returned."