METALS-Copper falls on prolonged U.S. rate hike prospects

(Updates prices) Feb 23 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell on Thursday on prospects of prolonged interest rates hikes in the United States stalling economic growth and crimping demand for the metal. The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.7% to 69,870 yuan ($10,140.78) a tonne by 0739 GMT, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6% at $9,060 a tonne. Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed policymakers will likely stick with interest rate increases to tame inflation, but favoured slowing the pace of the hikes.

The U.S. dollar stood near a seven-week high against the euro and the Australian dollar on prospects of higher-for-longer rates, making greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. Cushioning a further decline in metal prices are expectations for a demand recovery in top consumer China, after it reopened its economy, but real consumption is not expected to pick up until next month or in the second quarter. "The resumption rate of domestic (Chinese) infrastructure projects has greatly accelerated... However, the actual performance of spot copper consumption is still weak, and high prices restrained consumption," Jinrui Futures said in a report. LME aluminium dipped 1% to $2,394 a tonne, lead declined 0.6% to $2,090 a tonne, tin eased 0.3% to $26,775 a tonne, while zinc rose 0.3% to $3,065.50 a tonne. SHFE aluminium fell 0.6% to 18,680 yuan a tonne, nickel dropped 2.6% to 205,430 yuan a tonne, tin declined 1.7% to 216,750 yuan a tonne, zinc decreased 0.3% to 23,505 yuan a tonne and lead was down 0.5% to 15,345 yuan a tonne. For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 6.8900 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Uttaresh.V)

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METALS-Copper falls on prolonged U.S. rate hike prospects

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