Nov 24 (Reuters) - Copper inched lower on Wednesday as a robust dollar weighed on prices, with volumes expected to be low heading into the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.2% at $9,687.50 a tonne by 0308 GMT, having eased from a near one-month high touched on Tuesday.

The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange eased 0.2% to 70,850 yuan ($11,087.64) a tonne.

The dollar index was steady after hitting a more than 16-month peak on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was nominated for a second term, fuelling expectations of sooner interest-rate hikes.

A firmer dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

On-warrant LME copper inventories edged up slightly to 62,775 tonnes - the highest in more than six weeks, while cash premium over the three-month contract eased to $94.50 a tonne, indicating that the tightness in nearby supplies has eased.

FUNDAMENTALS

* China's Zijin Mining, said on Tuesday its board approved investment in a $769 million smelter for its Kamoa-Kakula copper project alongside Ivanhoe Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

* ShFE aluminium edged 0.3% lower to 19,130 yuan a tonne, nickel rose 0.4% to 151,900 yuan a tonne and zinc fell 0.3% to 23,550 yuan a tonne.

* LME aluminium was up 0.1% at $2,671 a tonne, nickel rose 0.3% to $20,400 a tonne and lead gained 1% to $2,276 a tonne.

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MARKETS NEWS

* Share markets were jittery in early Asia as trading was buffeted by a step-up in U.S. Treasury yields as well as volatile oil prices in the face of price-cooling moves by the United States and other nations.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0745 France Business Climate Mfg Nov

0900 Germany Ifo Business Climate New Nov

0900 Germany Ifo Curr Conditions New Nov

0900 Germany Ifo Expectations New Nov

1330 US Durable Goods Oct

1330 US GDP 2nd Estimate Q3

1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly

1330 US Consumption Adjusted MM Oct

1500 US U Mich Sentiment Final Nov

1500 US New Home Sales-Units Oct

1900 US Federal Open Market Committee will

release the minutes from its November 2-3 policy meeting ($1 = 6.3900 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)