* Copper up more than half a percent in London, Shanghai * Monetary fears countered by supply worries, softer dollar By Nick Trevethan SINGAPORE, March 19 (Reuters) - Copper rose in London and Shanghai on Friday underpinned by a slightly softer dollar and as worries about supply overcame concern about a tightening monetary environment. The euro ticked higher after it weakened against the dollar in the previous session on uncertainty over a resolution to Greece's debt problems. [FRX/] .DXY By 0412 GMT the single currency stood at $1.3624, up about 0.15 percent, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 pared Thursday's 0.6 percent fall, rising $39 to $7,525. The market is on track for a weekly rise of 1 percent. Just 378 lots traded electronically, about a third of the norm, for the time of day. "Prices are a little firmer and we are track for a small weekly gain, The dollar is king for now, but that's only because there is little else to drive direction," a dealer in Hong Kong said. "I don't see any surprises in store for us, unless there is a big blow out in Greece or another of the indebted euro zone nations. I am looking for prices to trade a $7,400-$7,550 range." Benchmark third-month Shanghai copper SCFc3 rose 0.7 percent to 59,980 yuan. Traders said there were concerns about China taking a more aggressive stance on monetary tightening which could derail firm commodity prices, but for the moment worries about supply and signs of firm demand held sway. "There is a risk that China might lift benchmark interest rates faster than expected but at the same time, the supply side looks supportive of prices," a trader in Singapore said, The latest threat came earlier this week after Swedish miner and smelter Boliden (BOL.ST) said it would shut Europe's fourth biggest copper smelter this week as a strike by Finnish port workers hit concentrate supplies. Boliden said a lack of copper concentrate would mean it would shut its Harjavalta smelter on March 18 and the copper refinery there the following day. [ID:nLDE62E1LP] The same strike may also result in the closure of the Kokkola zinc smelter next week. However the company added that it would be able to recoup lost copper output once the strike was over by lifting output tempo. According to Reuters Metal Production Database, Harjavalta is operating at around 92 percent of its nameplate capacity of 208,000 tonnes. here Also supportive, the two week trend of falling copper stocks continued with another 1,400 tonnes of metal leaving warehouses, bringing total LME stocks to a two-month low of 524,175 tonnes. <0#LME-STOCKS> Nickel, up more than 20 percent this year ticked lower to $22,650, supported by strikes, delays is starting new mines and output problems in Australia. Global nickel production is to rise by 4 percent to total 1.371 million tonnes this year but the market will fall into deficit for the first time in four years, industry consultants CRU Group said. Vanessa Davidson, a nickel analyst at CRU, said a rebound in stainless steel demand and lack of nickel scrap will see prices average around $10 a lb this year. "We moved into a better position towards the end of 2009 as demand started to improve and supply hasn't really risen dramatically in response to higher prices," she said at Informa's 2nd Annual Euro Nickel Conference in London. [ID:nLDE62H1BU] Base metals prices at 0412 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2009 YTD pct chg LME Cu 7525.00 39.00 +0.52 7375.00 2.03 SHFE Cu* 59980.00 440.00 +0.74 59900.00 0.13 LME Alum 2269.50 -6.50 -0.29 2230.00 1.77 SHFE Alum* 16705.00 30.00 +0.18 17160.00 -2.65 COMEX Cu** 339.55 0.80 +0.24 332.75 2.04 LME Zinc 2326.00 -7.00 -0.30 2560.00 -9.14 SHFE Zinc 18860.00 145.00 +0.77 21195.00 -11.02 LME Nickel 22650.00 -110.00 -0.48 18525.00 22.27 LME Lead 2253.00 8.00 +0.36 2432.00 -7.36 LME Tin 0.00 -17790.00 -100.00 16950.00 -100.00 LME/Shanghai arb^ 116 Dollar/yuan 6.8258 \ 6.8268 ** 1st contract month for COMEX copper * 3rd contact month for SHFE aluminium, copper and zinc ^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month (Editing by Ed Lane)

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