Oct 12 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Thursday, helped by a weaker dollar and expectations of more stimulus measures in top consumer China, but gains were capped by rising inventories.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.4% to $8,052 per metric ton by 0619 GMT.
The most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) edged up 0.2% at 66,750 yuan ($9,144.59) a ton.
The dollar was rooted near a two-week low after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting showed policymakers taking a cautious stance, making greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Chinese policymakers are weighing a new round of stimulus with the issuance of at least 1 trillion yuan ($136.95 billion) of additional sovereign debt for spending on infrastructure, a Bloomberg report said.
Yangshan copper premium
"This week, we are seeing greater interest in stockpiling from China, as downstream companies did not restock enough ahead of a week-long holiday. Traditionally, lower prices should boost some domestic demand in the meantime," said brokerage Sucden Financial in a note.
However, gains were capped by higher inventories of the
metal, as stockpiles at LME-registered warehouses
LME aluminium was almost flat at $2,214.50 a ton, nickel climbed 1.8% to $18,700, lead edged up 0.1% at $2,096.50, tin advanced 0.3% to $25,000, while zinc fell 0.2% to $2,472.
SHFE aluminium was almost flat at 19,090 yuan, lead rose 0.1% to 16,365 yuan, tin advanced 1.1% to 213,320 yuan, nickel climbed 1.1% to 152,120 yuan and zinc was nearly unchanged at 21,300 yuan.
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($1 = 7.2994 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Varun H K)