* Cash copper premium to three-month contract at four-yearhigh
* Chinese copper import premiums falling
* Nickel prices rise to highest since August (Updates with closing prices)By Peter HobsonLONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Tuesdayafter top consumer China unveiled economic stimulus measuresincluding tax cuts for manufacturing industry, bolstering thedemand outlook.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, said theUnited States and China were "on the cusp" of a deal to end atrade dispute that has pushed metals prices sharply lower sincelast summer.Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)closed 1.1 percent up at $6,478 a tonne, reversing Monday'slosses and approaching a seven-month high of $6,540 reached onFeb. 25.The Chinese stimulus measures, which included promises ofinfrastructure spending, were largely expected and come asoverall economic growth is cooling, with Beijing saying ittargets growth of 6-6.5 percent this year, down from 6.6 percentin 2018. For copper to really rally, China will have to move fromtalk to delivery on its stimulus pledges, said ING analystWarren Patterson, predicting that copper would average $6,400 atonne for April-June and rise later in the year.
TIGHT LME: Supporting copper are signs of tight supply onthe LME, where headline warehouse stocks, at 118,600 tonnes, arethe lowest since May 2008 and the premium of cashcopper over the three-month contract has risen to four-yearhighs at $70. PLENTIFUL CHINA: However, stockpiles in Shanghai FuturesExchange (ShFE) warehouses have more than doubledto 227,049 tonnes during a seasonal lull in manufacturingactivity during the Chinese winter and the Lunar New Yearholidays. Chinese import premiums have fallen to $55.50 from$120 in September. "On the LME it's all looking pretty constructive," saidING's Patterson, "but it's quite a different picture in China,where premiums are falling and ShFE inventories have swelled.Those indicators suggest a little bit of a concern over demand."COLUMN: Copper is tight but not as tight as LME stockssuggest: Andy Home. NICKEL: LME nickel finished 3 percent up at $13,650a tonne after hitting $13,725, the highest since August.
STOCKS: Nickel stocks in LME-registered warehouses, at196,410, have nearly halved since the start of January lastyear. DEFICIT: Data from the International Nickel Study Groupshows the nickel market deficit was 46,000 tonnes in 2016,115,000 tonnes in 2017 and 127,000 tonnes last year.OTHER METALS: LME aluminium ended down 0.1 percentat $1,874 a tonne, zinc rose 1.1 percent to $2,780, lead slipped 0.6 percent to $2,101 and tin closed 0.5percent up at $21,565.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Peter HobsonAdditional reporting by Enrico dela CruzEditing by David Goodman)