News: RIO METALS-Copper flat as strong dollar holds sway

SYDNEY, June 21 (Reuters) - London copper was trading flat in early Asian trade on Wednesday, capped by a stronger dollar that pushed prices lower overnight.

The dollar was at 97.715 <.DXY> against a basket of currencies, having touched a five-week peak overnight, making it attractive for sellers of copper in other currencies to unload positions and book arbitrage profits.

"Currency moves are behind what's going on in copper today," a trader in Sydney said. "It's a dollar play at the moment."

FUNDAMENTALS

• LONDON COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was little changed at $5,660 a tonne by 0130 GMT after falling 1.2 percent in the previous session.
• SHANGHAI: The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 slipped by 0.9 percent at the open to 45,490 yuan ($6,667) a tonne.
• CHINA TIN: China's Yunnan Tin Co Ltd <000960.SZ>, the world's biggest tin producer, says it has received government approval for so-called "processing trade", churning out refined metal for export using concentrate shipped in from abroad.
• LME tin CMSN3 rose by 0.1 percent to $19,650 a tonne. ShFE tin SSNcv1 was down 0.5 percent at 143,150 yuan ($20,980.51).
• FRESH MONGOLIA HUNT: Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto (RIO) has started new exploration work in Mongolia's Gobi desert after a gap of around five years, in a sign that Mongolia is having some success at bringing back foreign investors.
• NICKEL: LME nickel CMNI3 edged up 0.1 percent to $8,900 a tonne after shedding 2.1 percent overnight. Traders said profit-taking had set in after prices received a fillip on Monday from news that about a dozen newly constructed nickel smelters in Indonesia have been halted.
• For the top stories in metals and other news, click [TOP/MTL] or [MET/L]

  MARKETS NEWS

• A renewed slump in oil prices to seven-month lows put Asian investors on edge on Wednesday, overshadowing a decision by U.S. index provider MSCI to add mainland Chinese stocks to one of its popular benchmarks. [MKTS/GLOB]

  DATA AHEAD (GMT) 1400 U.S. Existing home sales May

  PRICES Three month LME copper CMCU3 Most active ShFE copper SCFcv1 Three month LME aluminium CMAL3 Most active ShFE aluminium SAFcv1 Three month LME zinc CMZN3 Most active ShFE zinc SZNcv1 Three month LME lead CMPB3 Most active ShFE lead SPBcv1 Three month LME nickel CMNI3 Most active ShFE nickel SNIcv1 Three month LME tin CMSN3 Most active ShFE tin SSNcv1

  ARBS LMESHFCUc3 LMESHFALc3 LMESHFZNc3 LMESHFPBc3 LMESHFNIc3

($1 = 6.8230 Chinese yuan renminbi)

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