METALS-Copper hovers near two-month low as demand woes linger

June 27 (Reuters) - Copper futures inched higher on Thursday, although a firmer dollar and uncertainty over economic recovery in top consumer China kept prices of the red metal near a two-month low. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 0.1% at $9,551.00 per metric ton, as of 0203 GMT. Still, the contract traded near its lowest since April 18 hit in the previous session. In the broader market, the dollar was on the front foot and stood near an eight-week high against a basket of currencies. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced commodities less attractive to holders of other currencies. USD/ The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 was flat at 77,980 yuan ($10,729.08) a ton. In industrial metal prices, downside momentum has proven resilient as commodity demand continues to weaken amid a precarious global macro landscape, analysts at TD Securities said in a note. "Inventory levels of copper continue to surge in China, while local premiums remain low, signalling little sign of physical demand to back to euphoric positioning in the West," according to the note. LME aluminium CMAL3 was trading 0.3% lower at $2,504 a ton, nickel CMNI3 edged up 0.4% to $17,110, zinc CMZN3 was flat at to $2,940, lead CMPB3 eased 0.1% to $2,191, and tin CMSN3 rose 0.4% at $31,965. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 rose 0.1% to 20,255 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 gained 0.8% to 135,100 yuan, lead SPBcv1 was up 0.6% at 19,230 yuan, while zinc SZNcv1 climbed 2.1% to 24,250 yuan and tin SSNcv1 was steady at 266,600 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0900 EU Consumer Confid. Final June 1230 US Durable Goods May 1230 US GDP Final Q1 1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly ($1 = 7.2683 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; 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 ))