Feb 7 (Reuters) - Metals prices flitted within a narrow range on Wednesday as traders gauged the lack of fresh market-moving catalysts and lacklustre trading ahead of a long public holiday in top consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged 0.1% higher to $8,410 per metric ton by 0253 GMT, while the most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.1% to 68,040 yuan ($9,466.17) a ton.
A softer U.S. dollar made greenback-priced metals cheaper for holders of other currencies, providing some support to the commodity.
Although demand for metals was soft as China is preparing for the Feb. 9-16 holiday to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
LME aluminium edged 0.1% higher to $2,232 a ton, lead advanced 0.2% to $2,119, tin increased 0.5% to $25,300, while nickel fell 0.3% to $15,885 and zinc dipped 0.2% to $2,428.
SHFE nickel eased 0.5% to 123,900 yuan a ton, lead fell 0.3% to 16,160 yuan, zinc was almost unchanged at 20,520 yuan, while aluminium rose 0.8% to 18,920 yuan and tin climbed 0.7% to 209,790 yuan.
Codelco, the world's top copper producer, could see a rebound in output this year to 1.353 million tons, marking the start of a recovery in production.
The discount of LME cash nickel to the three-month contract was last at $267 a ton, the biggest since October 2023, due to a surplus.
Meanwhile, SHFE front-month lead was trading at a premium of 115 yuan a ton over the three-month contract, the biggest level since last November, suggesting tight nearby supply.
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DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany Industrial Output MM Dec
0700 Germany Industrial Production YY Dec
0700 UK Halifax House Prices MM, YY Jan
0745 France Reserve Assets Total Jan
1330 US International Trade Dec
($1 = 7.1877 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
