HANOI: Copper prices fell on Friday as the dollar firmed on the back of rising US Treasury yields, making greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.9% to $8,973.50 a tonne by 0542 GMT, while the most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed 0.8% to 66,600 yuan ($10,225.86) a tonne.

LME nickel dropped 0.4% to $15,970 a tonne, aluminium was down 0.3% to $2,209 a tonne and ShFE aluminium fell 1.4% to 17,450 yuan a tonne. SHFE nickel declined 0.8% to 119,800 yuan a tonne.

US 10-year Treasury yields rose on Thursday above 1.75% for the first time in 14 months, pushing the dollar higher, as investors digested the US Federal Reserve's pushback against expectations of any early interest rate hikes.

"The yields rising indeed brought more demand for the US dollar...(but) the Fed meeting was actually very bullish for value or cyclical assets," said a Singapore-based metal trader.

"It is bullish for industrial activity and commodities because money will flow out to emerging markets. Any dip in metals is a chance to buy now."