Feb 1 (Reuters) - Prices of base metals fell on Thursday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar after the Federal Reserve pushed back against market expectation for an interest rate cut in March.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.3% to $8,587 per metric ton by 0248 GMT, while the most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was nearly flat at 69,230 yuan ($9,646.49) a ton.
The dollar climbed after Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on the idea of a first U.S. interest rate cut as soon as March.
Powell said rate cuts would come once the Fed becomes more secure that inflation will continue to decline from a level it still characterises as "elevated."
LME aluminium declined 0.6% to $2,267 a ton, nickel edged down 0.1% at $16,260, zinc fell 0.6% to $2,511.50, lead shed 0.3% to $2,151.50 and tin dropped 1% to $25,980.
SHFE aluminium eased 0.4% to 18,930 yuan a ton, nickel lost 0.4% to 126,690 yuan, zinc dropped 1.8% to 20,935 yuan, lead declined 0.6% to 16,165 yuan and tin fell 0.3% to 217,450 yuan.
Lending some support to the market, a private-sector survey showed that factory activity in top metals consumer China expanded in January thanks to stable growth in output, quicker logistics and the first rise in new export orders since June.
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DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Nationwide house price MM, YY Jan
0745 France CPI (EU Norm) Prelim YY Jan
0745 France Producer Prices YY Dec
0855 Germany Unemployment Chg, Rate SA Jan
1300 Germany CPI, HICP Prelim YY Jan
1900 US Federal Open Market Committee
announces its decision on
interest rates followed by statement
($1 = 7.1767 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
