(Updates prices)
March 30 (Reuters) - Benchmark London copper recouped
early losses during Asian trading hours on Thursday, with a firm
U.S. dollar and economic uncertainty weighing on sentiment, but
easing worries about banking stresses and falling inventories
lending support.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was
up 0.4% at $9,036 a tonne, as of 0711 GMT, after earlier falling
as much as 0.7%.
Receding fears of a full-blown banking crisis have revived
overall investor risk appetite this week, but the dollar's advance dented the appeal of greenback-denominated metals
to buyers with other currencies.
This week's rebound in metal prices have also been curbed
amid the uncertain economic backdrop, analysts said.
"Inflation remains high, with central banks likely to keep
tightening monetary policy. The speed of China's economic
recovery has also been disappointing," ANZ commodities
strategists said in a note.
Top metals consumer China's factory activity likely grew at
a slower pace in March, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday,
suggesting the economic recovery is uneven in the light of weak
global demand and a property slump.
"Nevertheless, there are growing expectations that the
copper market will tighten as the headwinds ease. This could be
exacerbated by the low level of inventories," the ANZ
strategists said.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange (SHFE) ended daytime trade 0.4% higher at
69,660 yuan ($10,131.48) a tonne.
Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by SHFE were down 11.6% last Friday, falling for a fourth
consecutive week to 161,152 tonnes.
LME aluminium rose 0.3% to $2,388 a tonne, zinc gained 0.3% to $2,976, nickel dipped 0.5% to
$23,630, lead added 0.3% to $2,145.50, while tin climbed 0.9% to $26,040.
In Shanghai, aluminium was virtually flat at 18,695
yuan a tonne, zinc added 0.6% to 22,855 yuan, nickel fell 2.5% to 176,580 yuan, while tin gained
0.3% to 207,230 yuan and lead edged up 0.1% to 15,305
yuan.
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or MET/L.
($1 = 6.8756 yuan)
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila
Editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran and Mark Potter)
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