METALS-Copper prices retreat from one-month high on dollar strength

By Violet Li SHANGHAI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Most base metals declined on Wednesday, weighed down by a strong U.S. dollar, which led copper prices to pull back from their one-month high. Three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) slid 0.2% to $9,138.5 per metric ton by 0135 GMT. The dollar slowed its rally on Wednesday, as traders turned cautious ahead of the highly anticipated U.S. consumer inflation report, set to be released later in the day, prompting hesitation in taking on new positions. The dollar index =USD , which measures the U.S. currency versus six other units, stood at 109.24 - not far from the 26-month high of 110.17 touched on Monday. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies. The Producer Price Index in December saw a yearly rise of 3.3%, slightly under the 3.4% predicted by economists, and a monthly increase of 0.2%, according to data on Tuesday, signalling less inflation and potentially cautious Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. The potential impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tariffs, combined with the Fed's cautious stance on rate cuts this year, drove up Treasury yields and strengthened the dollar. "The U.S. dollar is pretty strong these days, exerting pressure on metals prices. Meanwhile, investors adopt a wait-and-watch attitude before Trump's inauguration," a trader said. The most active copper contract on the SHFE SCFcv1 was up 0.1% at 75,390 yuan ($10,283.31)a ton. LME aluminium CMAl3 rose 0.3% to $2,568 a ton, tin CMSN3 fell at $29,650, nickel CMNI3 slipped 0.6% to $15,865, lead CMPB3 slid 0.5% to $1,955 and zinc CMZN3 lost 0.2% to $2,855. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 slid 0.7% to 20,145 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 was down 0.2% to 127,600 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 fell 0.7% to 24,010 yuan, lead SPBcv1 gained 0.5% to 16,565 yuan and tin SSNcv1 shed 0.7% to 246,770 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L ($1 = 7.3313 yuan) (Reporting by Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) (([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 ))