LONDON: Copper steadied on Tuesday as a rapid build-up of inventories that has pushed prices down since late June halted and workers voted to strike at a mine in Chile, raising supply concerns.
Stainless steel ingredient nickel, meanwhile, gained after Chinese steel prices reached their highest in 3-1/2 years.
"Copper demand is still buoyant. The market over-reacted to increases in inventory," said ABN AMRO analyst Casper Burgering, adding car sales, construction and manufacturing output in China remained solid.
However, Capital Economics analyst Caroline Bain said growth in China and the United States was likely to slow while interest rate rises would strengthen the US dollar, making metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.
"Our forecasts suggest that most prices will fall from here," she told the Reuters global base metals forum.
COPPER: London Metal Exchange benchmark copper traded unchanged at $5,824 a tonne in official rings after earlier rising to $5,863. Technical support was at $5,770-$5,790, a trader said.
COPPER STOCKS: Prices had slipped nearly 3 percent since late June as stocks in LME-registered warehouses rose by a third, signalling plentiful supply. Stocks fell 225 tonnes on Tuesday to 319,750 tonnes.
COPPER STRIKE: Workers at Chile's Zaldivar copper mine voted to approve a strike after talks with the firm failed. The nearby Centinela mine is also in negotiations over strike action. Together the two mines produced 340,000 tonnes of copper in 2016.
FREEPORT: Indonesia says it will invite the head of mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc to Jakarta this month to try to settle a festering dispute over a new deal to operate the world's second-largest copper mine.
CHINA CAR SALES: Vehicle sales rebounded in June, shaking off weakness in the previous two months.
CHINA STEEL: Concerns over tight supply pushed Chinese steel rebar futures to their highest in 3-1/2 years.
NICKEL: Benchmark LME nickel did not trade but higher steel prices helped drive the bid 0.2 percent higher to $9,030 a tonne.
ZINC: Zinc was bid down 0.3 percent at $2,773, still close to three-month highs reached due to falling stocks and speculative buying.
ZINC SPECULATORS: The net long position in zinc was 26 percent of open interest as of Thursday, the largest speculative long of any base metal and close to the highest since November, brokers Marex Spectron said in a note.
PRICES: LME aluminium was bid down 0.3 percent at $1,891 a tonne, tin was bid 0.4 percent lower at $19,800 and lead was bid down 0.4 percent at $2,310.
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