* Fall in LME nickel stocks positive for prices-analyst * China stock market rebounds, but investors cautious (Updates with official prices) By Eric Onstad LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Thursday after Greek lawmakers passed a tough bailout programme and the Chinese stock market stabilised, but a stronger dollar and uncertainty over global growth capped gains. While the Greek parliament approved austerity measures demanded by its creditors, Germany's finance minister questioned whether Athens would ever get a third bailout. "There may be some short-term fixes on Greece, but in the longer term, markets are still going to see it as a bit of a headwind to growth overall," Robin Bhar, head of metals research at Societe Generale in London, said. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.3 percent to $5,545.50 a tonne in official trading. Prices are struggling to regain upward momentum after plunging to a six- year low of $5,240 a tonne last week. A stronger dollar added to pressure on metals prices, by making the sector more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen repeated her view that the Fed is likely to raise interest rates later this year if the U.S. economy expands as expected. "There are still growth headwinds, currency headwinds, so prices will struggle to maintain rallies," Bhar said. "This risk-on, risk-off mentality will characterise our summer period and the weeks ahead of us look to be pretty choppy." China stocks rebounded on Thursday, but traders were uncertain whether Beijing could contain its volatile equities market after last week's crash. ID:nZZN2RI200] "We believe the stabilisation and continuous recovery in the housing sector will be the key to spur new demand for commodities and ease overcapacity concerns," Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong said in a note. "China's government has room for more monetary easing and fiscal stimulus. We believe the current commodities prices and share prices of commodity stocks (has) reached the bottom." In other metals, LME nickel fell 0.2 percent to $11,470 a tonne in official rings after hitting a six-year low of $10,430 last week. "The most significant development at the moment, I think, is not nickel prices having hit six-year lows, but after LME stocks having increased at a breakneck pace since 2012, this month has shown the first sign of a drawdown of these stocks," Thomas Hohne-Sparborth of consultancy Roskill told the Reuters Global Base Metals Forum. He forecasts prices recovering to $16,000 by December. Aluminium dipped 0.5 percent to $1,709 a tonne in official trading and zinc shed 0.6 percent to $2,063. Other metals failed to trade in official rings. Lead was bid 1.8 percent lower at $1,840 a tonne and tin was bid 0.9 percent higher at $14,800.

Source