METALS-Copper and aluminium rebound in thin trade

(Updates prices as of 1603 GMT) By Polina Devitt LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Prices of copper and aluminium rose on Tuesday as economic stimulus measures by top metals consumer China spurred a recovery after a bout of profit-taking drove both metals to losses in the previous session. Three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) were up 1.5% at $9,972 a metric ton by 1603 GMT, while aluminium CMAL3 gained 1.3% to $2,644.5. Copper hit $10,158 a ton, its highest since early June, on Monday before falling as investors reshuffled their positions ahead of China's Oct. 1-7 holiday. Aluminium touched $2,659 last week for its highest since June 6. "The feedback this week is that moves on these metals have been so substantial that current levels are not justified by fundamentals," said Alastair Munro, senior base metals strategist at brokerage Marex. "However, this is all about money flows, with systematic buyers covering shorts in the likes of nickel and lead whilst the wider markets had gotten so underinvested in our space that those inflows can be substantial and outweigh any supply and demand outlook." The holiday in China made for thin trade on Tuesday while the LME Week annual gathering of metals industry participants, continued in London. As both copper and aluminium are good conductors of electricity, some companies in Asia and Europe are starting to substitute cheaper aluminium wire for copper with rising gap in their price, consultancy CRU said on Tuesday. In other metals, LME nickel CMNI3 advanced 1.1% to $17,675 a ton after hitting $17,795 for its highest since June 14. Top nickel producer China's Tsingshan cut ferronickel production in Indonesia because of persistent shortages of ore, sources told Reuters. Zinc CMZN3 , meanwhile, added 1.7% to $3,140.50, lead CMPB3 climbed 0.7% to $2,109 and tin CMSN3 rose 1.4% to $33,950. (Reporting by Polina Devitt in London Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi Editing by David Goodman and Shreya Biswas) (([email protected]; Reuters Messaging: [email protected])) (( For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C Foreign exchange rates FX= SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX ))