Copper gained on Tuesday as the dollar eased but investors were concerned talk of an economic upturn may be over-stated as Chinese trade data dampened sentiment and indicated possible oversupply. By 0927 GMT, copper for three month delivery MCU3 on the London Metal Exchange stood at $4,659.75 a tonne from $4,565 at the close on Monday and compared with a session high at $4,684.25. The red metal is used in power and construction and is seen as a key economic indicator. Chinese trade data showed April's copper imports hit a record 399,833 tonnes, above March's 374,957 tonnes. Aluminium imports leapt three-fold to 440,000 tonnes. [ID:nLC559008] "The imports were very high," said Stephen Briggs, analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets. "The market generally thinks it is hard to explain how China can absorb that much copper." "The market is already assuming that (Chinese) imports will be winding down now because imports were so high, scrap is more readily available." He added that the incentive for China to import copper was seen as falling, as the premium for metal in Shanghai versus London had narrowed. A weaker U.S. currency, which makes metals priced in dollars less expensive for holders of other currencies, aided the upside, analysts said. [USD/] But Chinese buying has provided a major fillip for copper in recent months, with prices adding about 50 percent this year. Despite analysts suggesting that Chinese buying may now be slowing to a halt, cancelled warrants -- material earmarked for delivery -- rose. On Monday, cancelled warrants climbed to 74,500 tonnes from 70,350 tonnes the session before, while LME inventories for the metal fell 6,150 tonnes to 379,025 tonnes. In other industrial metals, aluminium MAL3 was last at $1,549 from $1,539. "The weaker dollar is lending some general support to commodities," said Leon Westgate, an analyst at Standard Bank.

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