May 1 (Reuters) - Most base metals fell in thin holiday trade on Wednesday, as a firmer dollar made greenback-priced commodities more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.7% to $9,920 per metric ton by 0715 GMT, and aluminium eased 0.6% to $2,576 a ton.
LME lead slid 0.2% to $2,213.50, nickel shed 0.5% to $19,150, and tin dipped 0.2% to $31,170 a ton.
Several Asian markets, including top metals consumer China, were closed for the Labour Day holiday.
The U.S. dollar was stronger ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision where the central bank is expected to keep its interest rates unchanged amid sticky inflation.
Base metals bulls have been hoping for lower interest rates, which are supportive of metals prices through a softer dollar and faster economic growth.
However, expectations of rate cuts have changed drastically after the U.S. economy posted robust performance, Sucden Financial analyst Daria Efanova said in a note.
"Coupled with rising geopolitical tensions and the impending election season, concerns about persistent inflation grew across major economies," she added.
LME zinc dropped 1.4% to $2,884 on easing supply worries as Nyrstar's Budel smelter will resume production during the week of May 13, partly because of higher refined zinc prices which have climbed by nearly a third since mid-February.
The global zinc market surplus widened to 40,100 tons in February from 12,300 tons in January, bringing the surplus in the first two months of 2024 to 53,000 tons compared with a deficit of 8,000 tons in the same period last year.
The International Copper Study Group has cut its forecast of supply surplus for this year due to much lower-than-expected mine production.
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(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
