March 12 (Reuters) - Prices of most base metals prices in London retreated on Tuesday, as investors and traders pulled back ahead of key data from the United States and top consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) edged up 0.1% at $8,657 per metric ton by 0700 GMT
Meanwhile, aluminium declined 0.3% to $2,253, nickel decreased 1% to $18,200 and zinc dipped 0.2% to $2,561.
LME lead was nearly flat at $2,126.50 a ton and tin shed 0.3% to $27,550.
Metal prices have been pressured by subdued economic growth outlook, poor manufacturing data and the lack of a big stimulus support from China.
The U.S. inflation, data due later in the day, could move the dollar. Some funds conduct trading metals on signals from numerical models.
"There's CPI data this evening, so it is best to square any positions. Fundamental view of base metals is bearish," said a metals trader.
China is also scheduled to release its loan data this week, which includes the total social financing numbers - a key indicator of future metals demand. Bank lending is expected to have pulled back sharply in February from a record high a month earlier due to seasonal factors.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed up 0.5% at 69,900 yuan ($9,740.80) a ton, tracking overnight gains in London. SHFE aluminium increased 0.2% to 19,180 yuan.
SHFE zinc advanced 0.7% to 21,360 yuan a ton, lead increased 0.4% to 16,270 yuan, while tin dropped 0.6% to 219,490 yuan.
SHFE nickel surged to as high as 142,000 yuan a ton, the highest since November 2023. LME nickel had also hit a similar peak in the previous session.
Analysts and a trader warned that the rally in nickel prices might pause soon as oversupply pressure still persists.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 7.1760 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Varun H K)
