LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Thursday, catching a lift from other assets including stocks as signs of progress started to emerge from U.S. budget talks, though a firmer dollar capped gains.
Republican leaders will visit the White House on Thursday as efforts intensify to break the impasse that has left parts of the U.S. government shuttered for more than a week.
They plan to speak to reporters at 1500 GMT and though it is unclear whether anything definite will emerge, a U.S. default remains unthinkable to most.
"A deal will get done," said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of commodity research firm BarrattBulletin in Sydney.
In the meantime, with no firm ideas from the minutes of the latest Fed policy meeting, investors are now eyeing U.S. weekly jobless numbers, out at 1230 GMT. Official data has been sparse because of the government shutdown.
Analysts said that a solid print from the jobs data could be a catalyst to push up copper and other commodity markets.
"We have quite strong upside momentum in European equities this morning, so it seems like today there is more risk appetite across equities and commodities," said Myrto Sokou, commodities analyst at Sucden.
NICKEL TROUBLES
In a tumultuous year for Columbian mining, Cerro Matoso, the world's second-biggest ferronickel producer and a property of BHP Billiton, has closed its mine temporarily after two weeks of protests by local groups demanding compensation for alleged harm to their health from pollution.
The closure will halt 4 percent of world output, though the impact is likely to be limited because of a global nickel surplus that has sent prices tumbling almost 20 percent this year.
Finnish nickel miner Talvivaara , meanwhile, is seeking more funding to keep its mine open.
Nickel was up 0.9 percent at $13,780 a tonne. Aluminium gained 0.6 percent to $1,868.5 a tonne, lead shifted up 0.2 percent to $2,079.5 and zinc rose 0.3 percent to $1,892.
Tin lost 0.3 percent to $23,325 a tonne but still rode the crest of a seven-month high touched on Friday over supply worries from top exporter Indonesia.
