BEIJING, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Shanghai nickel extended its rally on Friday to hit a three-month high, buoyed by supply fears amid news of potential U.S. sanctions on Russian metals, while a weaker dollar also lent support to the market.
The most-traded March nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 5.1% to 136,500 yuan ($18,973.35) per metric ton as of 0210 GMT, hitting the highest since Nov. 20.
Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.3% to $17,450 per ton, hovering around 14-week highs amid short-covering.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington plans to announce a major sanctions package against Moscow on Friday, triggering speculation over expansion of sanctions on Russian metals.
Russia is a major producer of refined nickel, palladium and aluminium.
Also helping metal prices was a weaker U.S. dollar as it makes it cheaper to purchase the greenback-priced commodity.
The dollar index was little changed on Friday after sliding in previous sessions as investors waited on new data catalysts for clues on when the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to begin cutting interest rates.
Elsewhere, LME aluminium climbed 0.6% to $2,210 per ton, copper was up 0.3% at $8,606, zinc rose 0.5% to $2,398, lead was unchanged at $2,087.50 and tin nudged 0.1% up to $26,200.
SHFE aluminium added 0.3% to 18,865 yuan a ton, copper was up 0.4% at 69,420 yuan, tin dipped 0.5% to 216,200 yuan, zinc gained 0.2% to 20,435 yuan, and lead moved 0.1% higher to 15,885 yuan.
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($1 = 7.1943 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Andrew Hayley; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
