* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: (Updates with closing prices)By Eric OnstadLONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Copper prices touched theirlowest level in more than a month on Monday on worries aboutglobal economic growth, but falling inventories and the upcomingpeak demand season for industrial metals were seen curbinglosses."There are some headwinds from a macro perspective after thebroader reaction to the PMIs and the Fed last week, but for basemetals in particular, there's a limit to how far that narrativecan weigh on the complex," said analyst Nicholas Snowdon atDeutsche Bank in London.Weak factory data in purchasing managers' surveys (PMIs) andan unexpectedly dovish statement from the U.S. Federal Reservelast week, together with an inversion of the U.S. yield curve,stoked fears the world's biggest economy was headed for arecession.However, fundamental supply-demand conditions are relativelytight in most industrial metals, shown by inventories that havefallen sharply over the past year.
"Given a combination of seasonal demand pick-up in Q2 andthe existing inventory picture, it's difficult to see thissell-off being sustained," Snowdon added.Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped to a low of $6,295 a tonne, the weakest since Feb. 19,before recovering to $6,340, a rise of 0.4 percent, in closingopen outcry trading.
* COPPER SPREADS: The premium of cash copper over thethree-month contract has weakened further to $2.50 atonne from a peak of $70 on March 5, indicating more plentifulsupply.
* INVENTORIES: LME zinc stocks , which haveslid by more than half so far this year, hit a fresh record lowof 57,075 tonnes, while nickel stocks fell totheir lowest since June 2013, LME data showed on Monday.
* ALUMINIUM PREMIUMS: Japanese aluminium buyers agreed topurchase supplies for April to June at premiums that are as muchas 27 percent higher than the previous quarter, sources said.
* LME ALUMINIUM: Three-month aluminium shed 1.1percent to finish at $1,883 a tonne. It was trapped in a range,capped by producer selling but supported at the lows by consumerbuying, Alastair Munro at broker Marex Spectron said in a note."Although clearly the market has been capped into $1,925/50area by producer activity, ditto any dip into $1,850/75 islikely to uncover a consumer bid," he said.
* ZINC TECHNICALS: Any further downside for LME zinc shouldsee support at around $2,760 a tonne, the lower boundary of thehourly upward channel, said St?(C)phanie Aymes, head of technicalanalysis at Societe Generale.
"In case of further bullish momentum, next resistance willbe at $2,940/$2,990," she added in a note.
* PRICES: LME zinc rose 0.6 percent to end at $2,831a tonne, lead fell 1 percent to close at $2,011, nickel , untraded in closing rings, was bid unchanged at $12,940while tin was bid down 0.6 percent at $21,300.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click or <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Tom Daly in Beijing and Mai Nguyen inSingapore; Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Fenton)