METALS-Copper falls after Fed cuts rates, dollar rebounds

By Tom Daly

Sept 18 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell on Thursday as traders booked profits following Wednesday's rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, while the dollar rebounded after Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruled out more aggressive easing going forward.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.5% at $9,943 a ton by 1600 GMT, having touched $9,917, its lowest since Sept. 10, earlier in the session. The metal used in power and construction had hit a 15-month high on Monday.

The Fed indicated that more rate cuts would follow in October and December, but Powell pushed back in his press conference against the idea that those could be larger cuts.

The dollar index .DXY climbed by 0.6% to 97.46 but is still down around 10.2% this year. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies and can weigh on prices.

Dan Smith, managing director at Commodity Market Analytics, said the rate decision was one of the key drivers behind copper's dip but also pointed to a technical chart pattern known as a "triple top".

"There has been quite a lot of overhead resistance for copper around the $10,160 level," Smith said. "It's turned at that point three times recently, which means the momentum is likely to be on the downside for the time being."

Aluminium CMAL3 was the only metal in the base complex to gain ground, rising 0.3% to $2,690 a ton amid tight supply. Indian aluminium producer Hindalco Industries HALC.NS said on Thursday it had halted production at its Novelis recycling plant in Oswego, New York due to a fire earlier this week.

The lightweight metal widely used in transport, packaging and construction had hit a six-month high of $2,720 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, zinc CMZN3 and nickel CMNI3 both slipped 1%, and tin CMSN3 shed 2%, touching its lowest since Aug. 22, lead CMPB3 dipped 0.3% to $2,006 per ton.