* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: (Updates with closing prices)By Eric OnstadLONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - Consumer buying andshort-covering helped aluminium to bounce on Monday from itslowest since January 2017 after data showed an upswing inexports from top producer China, fuelling worries aboutoversupply.
Copper and some other industrial metals stabilised on theback of a U.S.-Mexico deal that averted new tariffs and raisedhopes of an agreement with China.China exported 536,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium in May,up 7.6% from the previous month, while year-to-date shipmentshave climbed 12.4%."Aluminium took a hit after we had higher Chinese exportsand the recent drop in energy prices also undermined it," saidRobin Bhar, head of metals research at Societe Generale inLondon.Aluminium is the most energy-intensive base metal and Brentcrude futures have shed about 10% in the past two weeks.Traders said that industrial consumers and speculatorsbuying to reverse bearish positions spurred the recovery.
Broker Marex Spectron said the net speculative shortposition for aluminium on the London Metal Exchange (LME) hadexpanded to 14% of open interest, according to its estimates.Three-month LME aluminium rose 0.6% to $1,775 atonne in closing open-outcry activity, having touched $1,752.50,the weakest level since Jan. 11, 2017.
* U.S.-MEXICO: The United States dropped its threat toimpose tariffs on Mexico in a deal to combat illegal migrationfrom Central America, helping to calm markets worried about theChina-U.S. trade war.
* COPPER TRADE: The Mexico news boosetd LME copper ,which gained 1.3% to $5,874 a tonne and seemed to shrug off datashowing China's May imports of the metal were down nearly 11%from the previous month. "There was a slowdown in imports because there was a lot ofsupply in the Chinese spot market, and that resulted in the verylow premium in the sense that there was no incentive for tradersto import copper," said Helen Lau, analyst at ArgonautSecurities in Hong Kong.
* NYRSTAR SMELTER: LME lead jumped 3.1% to close at$1,889 a tonne after Nyrstar said its Port Piriesmelter in Australia would not reopen until the end of June. Last Thursday lead touched a one-month high when Nyrstarsaid the smelter, one of the world's largest for primary lead,had an unexpected outage and was likely to reopen within days.
* PRICES: LME zinc , untraded in closing rings, wasbid down 0.4% at $2,475 a tonne while nickel was bid up0.4% to $11,670 and tin added 0.1% to trade at $19,240.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click or .
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Enrico dela Cruz in Manila; Editing byDale Hudson and David Goodman)