BEIJING, March 21 (Reuters) - Prices of most base metals rose on Thursday, amid upbeat sentiment as investors eyed interest rate cuts by the U.S. central bank this year.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.3% to $9,044.50 per metric ton by 0143 GMT, while the most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) climbed 0.5% to 73,010 yuan ($10,145) per ton.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but still saw the rates falling at least three-quarters of a percentage point later this year despite recent high inflation readings.
That brightened the demand outlook for industrial metals.
The dollar index drifted lower on Thursday, making it cheaper to buy the greenback-priced commodity.
LME aluminium was up 0.9% to $2,292.50 a ton, nickel increased 0.9% to $17,655, zinc rose 1.1% to $2,537, and lead gained 0.7% to $2,078.50, while tin increased 2.1% to $27,795.
Inventories of lead in warehouses registered with the London Metal Exchange surged 34% to the highest level in 11 years on Wednesday.
SHFE lead eased 0.2% to 16,225 yuan, aluminium climbed 0.8% to 19,405 yuan a ton, nickel added 0.5% to 137,420 yuan, zinc rose 0.8% to 21,350 yuan and tin rose 0.7% to 226,330 yuan.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click or
($1 = 7.1962 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
