METALS-LME copper dips on firmer dollar, thin Asia trade

Feb 17 (Reuters) - London copper fell in thin Asia trade on Tuesday, as a firmer dollar, coupled with increasing inventories and weak demand, pressured prices.

Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.6% to $12,773.0 a metric ton by 0754 GMT.

"There's a lot of choppiness in the market today and a lot of moves that are exaggerated because of the public holiday," said Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed for the Lunar New Year holiday that began on February 15. Trading will resume on February 24.

China's Lunar New Year holiday this week means low volumes and possibly volatile moves due to settlement or rollover of maturing contracts on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday, traders said.

The dollar held onto gains on the day as markets looked ahead to Wednesday's release of minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Reserve's for clues into the potential timing of rate cuts. USD/

A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies, which could potentially subdue demand and undermine prices.

Copper stocks in LME-approved warehouses increased by 7,975 tons to 211,850 tons on Monday MCUSTX-TOTAL, the highest since April 2025.

BHP Group BHP.AX, the world's top copper producer, reported a stronger-than-expected half-year underlying profit driven by copper, which, for the first time, surpassed iron ore in the top global miner's earnings, as prices for the metal surged on AI-fuelled demand.

In other metals, aluminium CMAL3 was down 0.4% at $3,040.0, extending losses for a fourth consecutive session.

Strategists at J.P. Morgan noted the Mozal smelter's likely closure in March will not be a game changer for aluminium prices, with the impact being a shift in the global primary market from a small surplus to a modest deficit.

Zinc prices fell 0.5% to $3,272.0 a ton CMZN3, after falling to a two-week low earlier in the session. Lead CMPB3 eased 0.1% to $1,956.0, tin CMSN3 rose 1.3% to $45,430 and nickel CMNI3 edged 0.3% lower to $17,055 a ton.