(Recasts, updates prices)
BEIJING, April 13 (Reuters) - Prices of most base metals
found support on Thursday from hopes of better demand from top
consumer China while a shaky U.S. dollar made the commodity
cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange
(LME) gained 0.7% to $8,978.50 a tonne by 0759 GMT.
Analysts expect industrial metals to benefit from China's
economic growth this year, with ANZ Research noting that the
country's overall commodity imports were surprisingly strong
last month as downstream restocking continued ahead of
construction season.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange ended day-time trading 0.3% up at 69,170 yuan
($10,063.43) a tonne.
China's March copper imports fell 19% from a year earlier,
customs data showed on Thursday, as domestic production climbed
and higher global prices restrained interest.
The dollar weakened on Thursday after cooler than expected
U.S. inflation data lifted risk sentiment and stoked
expectations that the Fed will pause its monetary tightening
after raising interest rates one last time next month.
The dollar index fell by 0.17% to a more than
two-month low of 101.3 at 0816 GMT.
Among other metals, LME aluminium rose 0.5% to
$2,337.50 a tonne and lead gained 0.7% to $2,144 while
nickel lost 0.5% to $23,465. Zinc rose 0.7% to
$2,803.50 and tin was up 1.2% at $24,300.
Investors were also weighing up the global demand outlook in
the face of a possible recession.
Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting last
month showed that officials expect recent banking sector turmoil
to tip the economy into recession.
SHFE aluminium firmed by 0.3% to 18,490 yuan a
tonne, zinc edged up by 0.1% to 21,995 yuan and lead gained 0.3% to 15,320 yuan. Tin rose 0.8% to
192,260 yuan and nickel was down 0.4% at 181,290 yuan.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 6.8734 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton
Editing by David Goodman
)
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