METALS-Copper steadies around one-month peak as China stimulus kicks in

(Updates prices at 1715 GMT, adds possible EU ban on Russian aluminium) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Benchmark copper prices extended gains on Tuesday, holding around their highest in a month after data showed stimulus measures in top metals consumer China were kicking in and a Chinese official vowed to hit economic targets. Three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.6% to $9,153 a metric ton by 1715 GMT, its strongest since Dec. 12. LME aluminium CMAl3 touched its highest in nearly a month at $2,602 a ton after EU diplomats said the European Commission intends to propose a ban on imports of Russian primary aluminium in its next package of sanctions. It later gave up the gains and was down down 0.1% at $2,576.50. European industrial consumers have reduced their exposure to Russian aluminium since Russia invaded Ukraine. Copper's climb was supported by data showing that new Chinese bank loans beat forecasts as government stimulus measures slowly spurred credit demand while a central bank official said China will improve policy implementation to hit its full-year targets. "The market is looking towards China for any initiatives that can support the outlook, especially with tariffs looming," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen. "There is also some speculation that the Trump administration will gradually introduce tariffs over a period of time and that has helped soothe some of the nervousness ahead of the (president's) inauguration." U.S. Comex copper futures HGc3 were flat at $4.33 per lb, or $9,535 a ton, representing a premium of $382 a ton over LME copper, down from about $500 last week. The Comex premium reflected investors attempting to price in the impact of hefty tariffs that Trump has vowed to impose. "There's still some nervousness in the market regarding the tariffs impact on imports into the exchange and short sellers' ability to navigate those changes," Hansen said. A weaker U.S. dollar =USD also offered support, making dollar-priced commodities less expensive for buyers using other currencies. FRX/ In other metals, nickel CMNI3 added 0.1% to $15,910 and lead CMPB3 rose 0.2% to $1,963 while zinc CMZN3 was little changed at $2,864.50 and tin CMSN3 shed 0.7% to $29,650. For the top stories in metals, click MET/L (Reporting by Eric Onstad Editing by Janane Venkatraman and David Goodman) (([email protected]; +44 20 7542 7093; Twitter https://twitter.com/reutersEricO; 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 ))