By Michael Taylor LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Copper jumped more than 4 percent on Monday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and rising Chinese imports, before easing on bigger inventories in a thin market. China imported 141,728 tonnes of refined copper last month, 37.7 percent more than in November 2007, official customs figures showed. Adding to positive sentiment, China's apparent copper demand also jumped in November versus the previous month as imports rose, Reuters calculations based on customs and output data showed. or By 1105 GMT, copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange rose to $2,955 a tonne from $2,930 at the close on Monday and compared with a session high at $3,065. Prices of the metal used in power and construction have fallen about 65 percent since a record high of $8,940 in July. "China's imports numbers were encouraging and the dollar has weakened -- that's probably the two main factors," David Thurtell, a strategist at Citigroup said. "I guess a lot of it will depend on just what happens on Chinese demand," he added on the copper outlook. "There's been a lot of stimulus ... a lot of rescue packages are encouraging." Highlighting the uncertain nature of the rise in industrial metal prices, LME copper stocks climbed 3,200 tonnes to 327,500 tonnes -- the highest since February 2004. Aluminium hit $1,532 a tonne, and was last at $1,512 from $1,516. The metal used in transport and packaging has come under pressure in recent weeks on news of deteriorating car sales data from auto makers. But metal prices were supported by a weaker U.S. dollar, which retreated from the biggest daily gain against the euro in almost two months on Friday. Also supporting industrial metals, the U.S. government will put forward up to $17.4 billion in emergency loans to struggling U.S. automakers, who are expected to access the money immediately. The Canadian government is set to follow suit. "Investors need additional focus after the auto bailout plan was settled, and naturally they are seeking support from some basic factors," Cai Luoyi, analyst at China International Futures said. Base metals were little-affected by China's central bank decision to cut banks' benchmark lending and deposit rates by 0.27 percentage point -- the fifth cut since mid-September. Adding to the underlying negative sentiment however, aluminium stocks jumped 39,350 tonnes to 2.19 million tonnes -- a 14-year high. "Most of it appears to be due to the (stronger) euro and weaker dollar," said Leon Westgate, an analyst at Standard Bank on the base metals complex. "You had the Chinese import data ... (But) the market is all over the place. "I would expect the general trend to be sideways -- a bit volatile -- heading on for the new year," Westgate added. Lead jumped 7.5 percent to $915 a tonne from $851 on Friday but was last at $875. Nickel was at $10,120 a tonne versus $10,300, zinc at $1,155 from $1,160 and tin was at $10,500 from $10,100. Metal Prices at 1110 GMT Metal Last Change Percent Move End 2007 Ytd Percent move LME Cu 2948.00 18.00 +0.61 6670.00 -55.80 SHFE Cu* 23350.00 710.00 +3.14 56880.00 -58.95 LME Alum 1510.00 -6.00 -0.40 2403.00 -37.16 SHFE Alu* 10990.00 265.00 +2.47 18180.00 -39.55 COMEX Cu** 130.50 0.00 +0.00 303.05 -56.94 LME Zinc 1145.00 -15.00 -1.29 2370.00 -51.69 SHFE Zinc* 9785.00 225.00 +2.35 18950.00 -48.36 LME Nick 10020.00 -280.00 -2.72 26350.00 -61.97 LME Lead 875.00 24.00 +2.82 2550.00 -65.69 LME Tin 10350.00 -355.00 -3.32 16400.00 -36.89 ** 1st contract month for COMEX copper * 3rd contact month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07 (Additional reporting by Phakamisa Ndzamela in London and Alfred Cang in Shanghai)

Source