METALS-Aluminium dips as dollar strengthens on widening Middle East war

(Recasts with aluminium closing lower; updates prices by Asian market close)

March 3 (Reuters) - Aluminium pared earlier gains to close lower on Tuesday, pressured by a stronger dollar as the U.S. and Israeli air war ?against ?Iran dragged on for the fourth day, widening the Gulf region into the conflict.

The most-active aluminium closed daytime trading 0.58% lower at 23,905 yuan ($3,468.36) a metric ton, having risen 2.31% to 24,600 yuan earlier.

The metal, which had hit a one-month high on Monday, gained earlier in the session as Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz led to worries over supply being hit.

Global aluminium producers have paused initial premium offers to Japanese buyers as they gauge the impact of the escalating Middle East conflict.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a Monday note that the market is already trading above fair value, but prices could continue to rise substantially if disruptions persist for a month.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dipped, down 0.42% to $3,181 a ton as of 0726 GMT, after rising 1.1% earlier.

More broadly, a stronger dollar is pressuring the base metal complex, amid mounting inflation fears stemming from rising oil and gas prices.

Tin led the decline. The most-active tin on SHFE plunged 12% to 394,890 yuan a ton, touching the maximum-allowed fall. The London benchmark tin declined 6.18% to $50,365 a ton.

A stronger U.S. dollar makes commodities denominated by the greenback less affordable for investors using other currencies.

The soldering metal's recent rally was halted as the tin-rich autonomous Wa State in Myanmar is stepping up efforts to resume production at some of its mines, and export of tin concentrates to China is expected to rise throughout 2026, easing a supply fear that underpinned the rally, according to analysts at Chinese broker Galaxy Futures.

Among other base metals on SHFE, copper declined 1.40%, zinc dropped 0.89%, nickel lost 3.16% and lead nudged 0.03% higher.

Elsewhere on the LME, copper added 0.14%, lead was up 0.15%, nickel rose 0.41% and zinc dropped 0.45%. ($1 = 6.8923 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Dylan Duan; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mrigank Dhaniwala)