(Updates prices)By Peter HobsonLONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Thursdayas available stockpiles in London Metal Exchange (LME)warehouses tumbled and a spike in the cost of metal forimmediate delivery pointed to a tightening market.
The dollar also slid to its weakest in nearly two years,making metals cheaper for buyers outside the United States.Benchmark copper on the LME was up 0.8% at $6,534.50a tonne at 1600 GMT, pushing towards last week's two-year highof $6,633.
The metal has rebounded from a low of $4,371 in March as thecoronavirus spread, and Chinese efforts to stimulate theireconomy by building metals-intensive infrastructure will supportprices, said Capital Economics analyst Kieran Clancy.
"The general trajectory over the next 18 months is anupwards one," he said.
STOCKS: On-warrant copper inventories in LME-registeredwarehouses fell to 55,950 tonnes from about 250,000 tonnes inmid-May. SPREAD: The premium for LME cash copper over three-monthmetal jumped to a 16-month high of $24.50 a tonne from a $30discount in May. A premium signals tighter nearby supply. CHILE: Miner Antofagasta and workers at itsZaldivar mine decided to extend government-mediated talks for anew union contract and avoid a strike. COLUMN: A perfect storm in scrap is copper's hidden bulldriver, writes Andy Home. TESLA/NICKEL: Elon Musk, boss of electric car maker Tesla,has urged miners to produce more nickel for batteries. ALUMINIUM: China's June aluminium imports surged by morethan 490% year on year to an 11-year high of 288,783 tonnes astraders took advantage of lower prices abroad. Citi raised its aluminium price forecasts to $1,900 a tonnein 2021 and $2,000 a tonne in 2022. ECONOMY: Surveys showed growing consumer and businessconfidence in France and Germany, but South Korea plunged intorecession in the second quarter.OTHER PRICES: LME aluminium was up 0.8% at $1,705 atonne, zinc rose 1.1% to $2,237, nickel gained4.1% to $13,670, lead added 1.2% to $1,826.50 and tin was up 1.5% at $17,850.
(Reporting by Peter HobsonAdditional reporting by Mai NguyenEditing by David Goodman and Jane Merriman)