METALS-Copper ekes out gains as supply worries counter stronger dollar

By Brijesh Patel

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Copper prices traded slightly higher after early losses on Wednesday, as concerns over supply disruptions offset the pressure from a rising U.S. dollar.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 0.1% at $10,768 per metric ton by 0713 GMT.

The dollar index .DXY extended gains to a third session, touching a more-than one-month high against its rivals. A firmer dollar makes greenback-denominated assets, like copper, more expensive for holders of other currencies. FRX/

Operations at Indonesia's Grasberg mine, the world's second-largest copper mine accounting for 3% of global concentrate production, have been halted for nearly a month after a mud-flow disaster killed seven workers.

The suspension at Grasberg, coupled with disruptions at the Kamoa-Kakula mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to an earthquake, and the El Teniente mine in Chile after an accident in July, suggest supply concerns are likely to persist this year.

"The recent supply-side disruptions remain a supportive factor for copper prices," analysts at ANZ said.

Grasberg's operator, FreeportFCX.N, didn't say when operations would be back to normal. This, along with disruptions in Chile, are helping copper, ANZ said.

Chile's output fell 9.9% year-on-year in August after the accident at Codelco's flagship mine on July 31.

Chile, the world's largest copper producer, exported $4.39 billion worth of the metal in September, down 2.03% year-on-year, its central bank said on Tuesday.

Among other London metals, aluminium CMAL3 was steady at $2,740 a ton, nickel CMNI3 fell 0.4% to $15,425, lead CMPB3 lost 0.3% to $2,004.5, zinc CMZN3 slipped 0.4% to $3,033, and tin CMSN3 was down 0.1% at $36,455.

Chinese markets are closed from October 1 to 8 for the Golden Week holiday.

For the top stories in metals and other news, click

TOP/MTL or MET/L

 For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview      RING= COMEX copper futures  0#HG: All metals news         MTL   All commodities news      C 
 Foreign exchange rates FX=SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX