BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - London copper prices climbed on Friday thanks to a weaker U.S. dollar, and were headed for an annual rise in 2023 on firm Chinese demand and expectation of tightening supply.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) ticked 0.1% up to $8,635.50 per metric ton by 0155 GMT. The contract has gained 3% so far this year, partly reversing a decrease of 13.9% in 2022.
The dollar index dipped on Friday on expectation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates from March next year.
Prices of the metal were supported by thin global stocks and robust Chinese demand, despite property sector woes in the world's top consumer.
Tighter supply of copper concentrate also aided investors' optimism over the metal widely used in power, construction and transportation sectors.
The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) slid 0.8% to 68,980 yuan ($9,724.26) per ton. It has risen 6.9% so far in the year.
LME aluminium shed 0.1% at $2,376 a ton, tin was little changed at $25,680, zinc was listless at $2,640.50, lead nudged 0.1% up to $2,087.50, and nickel was little moved at $16,730.
SHFE aluminium fell 0.4% to 19,475 yuan a ton, zinc moved 0.1% down to 21,500 yuan, lead held stable at 15,880 yuan, nickel declined 1.2% to 128,660 yuan, and tin slipped 1.5% at 211,380 yuan.
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($1 = 7.0936 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
