METALS-Base metals rise on weaker dollar, but trade thin ahead of US election

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Prices of base metals rose on Monday on a softer U.S. dollar, but trading remained thin amid caution around the uncertainty of who will become the next U.S. President. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 rose 0.5% to $9,616.50 per metric ton by 0312 GMT, while the most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 increased 0.4% to 76,780 yuan ($10,810.28) a ton. The dollar slipped as investors braced for a potential pivot this week for the global economy as the United States chooses a new leader on Tuesday and, probably, cuts interest rates again. A softer dollar makes greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies. An interest rate cut will also likely help boost economic growth and eventually physical metals demand. U.S. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump remain virtually tied in opinion polls and the winner might not be known for days after voting ends. "Things are likely to be fairly volatile with thin volumes until there is clarity on the U.S. election result. The situation is unusually stark because of the potential difference in terms of tariff and trade policy depending on the victor," said Guy Wolf, Global Head of Market Analytics at Marex Spectron. "In addition, there is little clarity around whether post-election actions will match pre-election rhetoric. So it will be a difficult trading environment," said Wolf. LME aluminium CMAL3 edged up 0.4% to $2,611.50 a ton, nickel CMNI3 climbed 0.7% to $16,050, zinc CMZN3 gained 0.1% at $3,073.50, lead CMPB3 increased 0.2% to $2,057.50 and tin CMSN3 rose 1.5% to $32,210. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 added 0.1% at 20,790 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 rose 0.8% to 124,300 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 advanced 0.2% to 25,010 yuan, lead SPBcv1 increased 0.7% to 16,805 yuan and tin SSNcv1 jumped 2.7% to 262,520 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L ($1 = 7.1025 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sumana Nandy) (([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 ))