Jan 16 (Reuters) - Prices of most nonferrous metals declined on Tuesday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and concerns about demand in top consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased 0.2% to $8,366 per metric ton by 0142 GMT, while the most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was nearly flat at 67,860 yuan ($9,457.97) a ton.
The dollar climbed as hawkish remarks from central bankers tempered expectations for interest rate cuts and traders waited to hear from the U.S. Federal Reserve's influential Christopher Waller.
A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Meanwhile, China's central bank left the medium-term policy rate unchanged on Monday, defying market expectations for a cut as a weaker currency limited the scope of near-term monetary easing to boost the economy.
LME nickel fell 0.4% to $16,160 a ton, lead dipped 0.3% to $2,102, tin was unchanged at $24,781, zinc was nearly flat at $2,558 and aluminium edged up 0.1% at $2,205.50.
SHFE nickel dropped 0.7% to 126,830 yuan, lead edged up 0.1% to 16,225 yuan, and tin advanced 0.2% to 208,820 yuan.
SHFE aluminium fell 0.5% to 18,840 yuan a ton, having hit a four-week low of 18,805 yuan earlier in the session and on track for a fourth straight daily loss.
SHFE zinc rose 0.9% to 21,310 yuan. It hit the highest level since Jan. 4 at 21,400 yuan earlier in the session, tracking London's overnight gains on Nyrstar's suspension plan for its zinc smelting operations in the Netherlands.
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DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany HICP Final YY Dec
0700 UK Claimant Count Unemployment Change Dec
0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Nov
0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Dec
1000 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Jan
1000 Germany ZEW Current Conditions Jan
($1 = 7.1749 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
