METALS-Copper gains on softer dollar as US jobs growth data disappoints

(Recasts after U.S. data)

By Julian Luk

London Nov 1 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Friday as disappointing U.S. October jobs gain has firmed up chances of Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next week to weaken the dollar.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.6% to $9,558 per metric ton during official rings.

The industrial metals prices were supported by a weaker dollar, which makes greenback priced metals cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.

The dollar erased early gains to trade lower after U.S. nonfarm payrolls gains fell short of expectations amid disruptions from hurricanes and strikes by aerospace factory workers in October.

A soft labour market made traders pricing about a 99% chance of a quarter-point interest-rate cut for U.S. central bank meeting on Nov. 7, compared to 92% before.

A lower interest rate discourage foreign investments to pressure the dollar.

Trading volumes in industrial metals overall remained thin with market taking a wait-and-see approach amid the uncertainty over the Nov. 5 presidential election, said CRU analyst Craig Lang.

The election outcome is a determinant of tariff policies between U.S. and top metals consumer China. Polls indicate a close race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

The uncertainty pushed dollar/offshore yuan on Friday to a level not seen since August 2015.

The U.S. election result could even affect the size of China's stimulus to revive the fragile economy of the world's biggest metals consumer.

Beijing mulled issuance of over 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in extra debt, a fiscal package that would be further bolstered if Trump is elected.

Whether the stimulus could feed into Chinese industrial sector remains a key question for metal investors.

China's October manufacturing activity swung back to expansion for the first time in six months, with improvement in export orders close to the year-end.

For other metals, lead rose to one-week high of $2,070 earlier. It last traded at $2,069.

LME aluminium rose 0.9% to $2,642 a ton, nickel increased 2.3% to $16,075, zinc advanced 0.9% to $3,057 and tin gained 1.2% at $31,590.

(Reporting by Julian Luk; Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman and Tom Hogue)