METALS-Copper steadies after hitting five-month high

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Copper prices were steady on Wednesday after hitting their five-month high on mounting expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut later in the month and a weaker dollar.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was unchanged at $9,977.50 by 1600 GMT.

The metal hit $10,038, its highest since March 26, at the open of the electronic market trading, which the LME delayed by 90 minutes due to a technical issue during the market pre-open.

In the United States, jobs data due on Friday is expected to confirm a weakening labour market, strengthening the case for rate cuts, said ING commodities strategist Ewa Manthey. Lower interest rates improve prospects for growth-dependent metals.

However, concerns about the economic growth due to broad U.S. import tariffs persist and weigh on sentiment for the industrial metals, she said.

The dollar index was last down 0.3%, making dollar-priced metals more attractive for buyers holding other currencies. FRX/ The U.S. currency will weaken over coming months, according to a Reuters survey.

Meanwhile, in top metals consumer China, services activity expanded at the quickest pace in 15 months in August, buoyed by firmer domestic demand and a rebound in foreign orders, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday.

China's refined copper production in September is forecast for a rare fall, the first for the period since 2016, analysts said , due to a constrained scrap copper supply.

Among other LME metals, zinc CMZN3 fell 0.1% to $2,861 a ton after hitting $2,900, the highest level since March 28, earlier in the session.

Zinc is buoyed by lower inventories in the LME-registered warehouses MZNSTX-TOTAL, although fundamental support is still lacking, said Neil Welsh, head of metals at Britannia Global Markets.

LME aluminium CMAL3 lost 0.1% to $2,617, lead CMPB3 gained 0.2% to $1,996.50, tin CMSN3 fell 0.1% to $34,655, while nickel CMNI3 climbed 0.5% to $15,305.

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