May 2 (Reuters) - Prices of nonferrous metals in London rose on Thursday, as a softer dollar made greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.4% to $9,939.50 per metric ton by 0236 GMT, aluminium edged up 0.3% at $2,585, nickel advanced 0.1% to $18,905, tin climbed 1.6% to $31,080.
LME zinc fell 0.1% to $2,877 a ton while lead was flat at $2,180.
The dollar fell after the Fed signaled it was still leaning toward eventual reductions in interest rates, but repeated that it wants to gain "greater confidence" that inflation will continue to fall before cutting rates.
Trading volume was thin due to a public holiday in top consumer China.
China's copper producers are planning to export up to 100,000 metric tons of metal, the largest volume in 12 years, aiming to cool a rally that has propelled prices towards record highs and hit their order books, sources said.
On-warrant aluminium stocks in LME-approved warehouses
dropped to 131,375 tons on Tuesday, their lowest level since at
least 1998, as cancelled warrants - metals earmarked for
delivery - surged 82% in just over two weeks.
The discount or contango for buying aluminium tomorrow and
selling it the day after, known as tom-next
LME aluminium prices rose 10.9% last month, the best monthly gain since January 2023, on supply disruption concern amid sanctions on Russian metal, and optimism around China's economic recovery.
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DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0750 France HCOB Manufacturing PMI April
0755 Germany HCOB Manufacturing PMI April
0800 Euro Zone HCOB Manufacturing PMI April
1230 US International Trade $ March
1230 US Initial Jobless Claim weekly
1400 US Factory Orders MM March
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
