By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fluctuated in New York and London as the dollar swung between gains and losses. The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, was little changed after falling as much as 0.3 percent and gaining as much as 0.2 percent. Dollar-priced metals tend to move inversely to the currency because they become more expensive in terms of other monies when it strengthens and cheaper as it weakens. “Currency volatility today” is driving prices on the London Metal Exchange, Daniel Major, an analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in the U.K. capital, said by phone. Futures for July delivery fell 1 cent, or 0.4 percent, to $2.756 a pound at 8:31 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The contract rose as much as 0.8 percent and slid as much as 1.2 percent. Copper for delivery in three months increased 0.2 percent to $6,115 a metric ton on the LME. The metal is headed for a third monthly drop in a row, pulled down by concern that Greece’s fiscal crisis may spread to other European economies and China might take more steps to restrain its economy. Prices are more likely to fall toward $5,000 a ton than to advance toward $7,000, Daniel Brebner, head of metals research at Deutsche Bank AG in London, said by phone. Demand From China “Investors’ concerns remain paramount about global growth,” he said. Still, Chinese demand for industrial metals remains robust, said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London who visited the Asian nation and spoke with consumers and producers during the last week of May. China is the world’s biggest copper consumer. “All is looking good,” he said today by phone. Copper prices are “not far away from the floor” or there already, according to Thurtell. The dollar index is on course for a seventh consecutive monthly advance, helped by concern that Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis may crimp the region’s economic rebound. The euro has slid 17 percent this year against the U.S. currency. Inventories of copper tracked by the LME fell for a 15th day to 469,850 tons and are headed for a fourth straight monthly drop. Including those monitored by exchanges in Shanghai and New York, they totaled 715,207 tons, the lowest since January. Bookings to remove metal from LME warehouses jumped 26 percent, the most since April 26, to 25,600 tons. Aluminum for three-month delivery on the LME climbed 0.5 percent to $1,877 a ton. Prices in China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of the lightweight metal, fell below output costs and will have a “significant” effect on smelters, said Luo Jianchuan, president of Aluminum Corp of China Ltd. Zinc added 1.7 percent to $1,656 a ton and lead gained 1.7 percent to $1,580 a ton. Tin rose 2.7 percent to $15,915 a ton and nickel fell 1.7 percent to $17,884 a ton. --With assistance from Glenys Sim in Singapore. Editors: Dan Weeks, John Deane. To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net.

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