* LME zinc stocks at lowest in a decade
* Shanghai zinc stocks near decade lows
* Aluminium hits lowest since last August (Adds closing prices, details)By Maytaal AngelLONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Zinc rallied on Thursday,supported by sliding stockpiles and signs China may be takingsteps to de-escalate its trade dispute with the United States.London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc stocks fellto a decade low of 125,400 tonnes, data showed, while on warrantor available stocks hit their lowest since February.
Shanghai Futures Exchange stocks are also near their lowestin 10 years. "In the short term it's a pretty supportive narrative, butwe've seen a very large build in (zinc) concentrate stocks inChina and I do think you'll see strong pick up in Chineserefined production next year," said Deutsche Bank analyst NickSnowdon.
Snowdon said headlines on the China-U.S. trade row were alsohaving an outsized influence on price with no new major Chineseeconomic data releases expected until the end of the month.China has sent a written response to U.S. demands for tradereforms, three U.S. government sources said, which could lead totalks to end the trade war between the world's top twoeconomies.
* ZINC PRICES: Three month LME zinc closed up 3percent at $2,577 a tonne, having hit its highest in nearly twoweeks at $2,605.
* ZINC DEFICIT: The global zinc market deficit narrowed to54,700 tonnes in September from a revised deficit of 81,800tonnes in August, industry data showed.
* CHINA HOUSING: China's new home prices accelerated inOctober, suggesting a key driver of the country's economicgrowth remained intact despite slower investment and increasingeconomic headwinds.
* CHINA STIMULUS: Metals pundits are eyeing potentialeconomic stimulus measures in China after the country postedslower growth in lending and retail sales last month, pointingto a consumption slowdown even as industrial output andinvestment picked up. "In Chinese media, there are more comments from governmentofficials saying what they would do to support the economy. Thathas also kind of cultivated positive sentiment," said Helen Lau,an analyst at Argonaut Securities.
* COPPER TC/RC'S: Chinese copper smelter Jiangxi Copper andminer Antofagasta have agreed 2019 copper treatment and refiningcharges at $80.80 a tonne and 8.08 cents a pound.
* CHILE COPPER: Chile's state copper agency Cochilco loweredits average copper price prediction for this year by $0.03 to$2.97 per pound.
* METALS PRICES: Bellwether LME copper closed up 1.6percent at $6,185 a tonne, while aluminium ended down0.7 percent at $1,929, having hit its lowest since last August.Lead ended down 1.2 percent at $1,929, tin closed up 0.4 percent at $19,390 while nickel ended down0.5 percent at $11,260.<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by AlexanderSmith, Mark Potter and Alexandra Hudson)