METALS-Aluminium falls on producer selling, uncertainty over China stimulus

(Updates prices) By Julian Luk London Oct 9 (Reuters) - Aluminium prices fell further on Wednesday, with producers selling forward to lock in high prices and amid uncertainty over China's plan to revive its economy. Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange CMAL3 dipped 2.5% to $2,505 per metric ton, lowest since Sept. 24. It last traded 1.4% lower at $2,536.5 as at 1355 GMT. It already fell 3.3% on Tuesday to register its biggest daily loss in over five months. A combination of producer selling and long liquidation from funds has pressured aluminium, Marex's senior metals strategist Alastair Munro said, adding there would be further declines if China could not provide more clarity on its stimulus plans. A lack of details on new stimulus at a Tuesday briefing by China's top economic planning unit led to disappointment and steep corrections across equities and commodities. Hopes are now pinned on an upcoming briefing on Saturday from China's finance ministry. Physical demand for aluminium however remains stable. The premium for aluminium shipments to Japan was set at $175 a metric ton, up 1.7% from the prior quarter, Reuters reported. Japan is a major importer of the light metal, and the amount Japanese buyers agree to pay on top of the LME cash price to get aluminium is seen as a gauge of demand from Asia. The rest of the base metals complex also came under pressure on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar rose to a two-month high ahead of Federal Reserve's release of notes about its last rate cut decision. Investors bet that the central bank will not continue easing so aggressively. A costlier dollar makes the greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of foreign currencies. LME copper CMCU3 fell 0.7% to $9,678, nickel CMNI3 slipped 2.2% to $17,380 a ton, lead CMPB3 dipped 1.9% to $2,063, zinc CMZN3 fell 2.3% to $3,022 and tin CMSN3 lost 1.4% to $32,410. (Reporting by Julian Luk; Editing by Jan Harvey, Alexandra Hudson and Shreya Biswas) (([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 ))