METALS-Most base metals slide with firmer dollar, supply outlook in focus

(Adds comment in paragraph 7 and updates prices)

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) – Most base metals traded lower on Wednesday, as a slightly firmer U.S. dollar made the greenback-priced commodity more expensive for buyers, while investors assessed supply outlook for metals.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.8% at $9,954.50 per metric ton, as of 0340 GMT, reversing previous gains that pushed the contract to a nearly two-year high.

The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 1.3% at 80,000 yuan ($11,073.28) a ton.

The dollar was back on the front foot on Wednesday, making modest gains after earlier losses from renewed bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, while the yen eased towards the 155-per-dollar level and kept intervention risks from Tokyo high.

Supply outlook for metals was also on investors’ radar, as raw material shortages of copper have been a key driver behind the recent rally.

Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan is preparing to ship as much as 900,000 tons of copper concentrate starting in June from its Grasberg mine after positive talks with Indonesia to extend its export licence, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The improved supply could support processing fees in China, which fell to a negative for the first time on record in late April, and weighed down copper prices, a trader in China said.

LME nickel fell 2% to $18,865 a ton, tin shed 1.1% to $32,245, aluminium slipped 0.7% to $2,550.50, zinc lost 1% to 2,932, while lead moved 0.2% lower to $2,247.50.

SHFE zinc was down 0.5% at 23,215 yuan a ton, tin slid 1.2% to 260,070 yuan, aluminium fell 1.1% to 20,470 yuan, nickel lost 2.5% to 141,640 yuan, while lead rose 1.6% at 17,970 yuan,.

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DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0600 Germany March Industrial Output

1200 Brazil March Retail Sales

2350 Japan Bank of Japan to release summary

of opinions from board members at its

April 25-26 policy meeting

($1 = 7.2246 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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