METALS-Shanghai copper gains on weaker dollar, improving Chinese economy

April 17 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper firmed on Thursday, as a softer dollar and improving economic data from top metals consumer China buoyed market sentiment.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 rose 0.5% to 75,940 yuan ($10,395.19)per ton, as of 0120 GMT.

The dollar index .DXY slipped against its rivals to hold near a three-year low hit last week, making greenback-priced commodities cheaper for buyers using other currencies. USD/

China's economy grew 5.4% year on year in the first quarter, data showed on Wednesday, surpassing estimates, underpinned by solid consumption and industrial output.

"Copper led the base metals higher after better-than-expected economic data in China boosted sentiment," said Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ Bank.

Meanwhile, Beijing ordered airlines to not take further deliveries of Boeing BA.N aircraft, while U.S. government limited exports of Nvidia's NVDA.O H20 artificial intelligence chip to China.

Elsewhere, Copper output in Peru, the world's third-largest producer of the red metal, was virtually flat in February from the same month a year ago, data from the nation's energy and mines ministry showed on Wednesday.

The benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.2% to $9,185.5 a metric ton.

LME aluminium CMAL3 gained 0.3% to $2,388 a ton, lead CMPB3 rose 0.3% at $1,914, nickel CMNI3 firmed 0.3% to $15,730 a ton, zinc CMZN3 rose 0.3% at $2,589.5, while tin CMSN3 was up 0.1% at $30,835.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 firmed 0.4% to 19,650 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 fell 0.8% to 21,955 yuan, lead SPBcv1 lost 0.1% to 16,740 yuan, tin SSNcv1 fell 0.6% to 256,270 yuan and nickel SNIcv1 gained 1.2% to 126,270 yuan.

($1 = 7.3053 Chinese yuan)