<p style="text-align: center;"><img title="1609901708615354.jpg" alt="7.jpg" src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20210106/1609901708615354.jpg"/></p><p>Copper prices&nbsp;climbed towards eight-year highs on Tuesday as a lower dollar, expectations of robust demand in top consumer China and falling inventories spurred purchases.<br/><br/>Benchmark copper on the&nbsp;London Metal Exchange&nbsp;traded up 0.8% at $7,922.50 a tonne in official rings. Prices of the metal, used by investors as a gauge of economic health, climbed above $8,000 last month, the highest since February 2013.<br/><br/>&quot;The lower dollar is supporting copper and focus is on the vaccines which imply stronger growth in the medium term,&quot; said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.</p><p><br/></p><p>&quot;China&#39;s economy is in good shape, it is driving force behind metals demand.&quot;<br/><br/>DEMAND:&nbsp;Clues to demand prospects for base metals will come over the next two weeks with the release of Chinese data on total social financing, new loans, trade and industrial production.<br/><br/>DOLLAR:&nbsp;A lower U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies, which could boost demand.<br/><br/>STOCKS:&nbsp;Copper stocks in&nbsp;LME&nbsp;registered warehouses at 105,425 tonnes are down more than 40% since the middle of October and the lowest since September last year.<br/><br/>Cancelled warrants - metal earmarked for delivery - at nearly 30% suggest more copper is due to leave LME warehouses.<br/><br/>TIN:&nbsp;Stocks of tin at 1,870 tonnes have plunged nearly 70% since last October and are at their lowest since May last year. Cancelled warrants stand at nearly 50%.<br/><br/>Worries about tin supplies on the LME market pushed the premium for the cash over the three-month tin contract to more than $220 a tonne at the end of December.<br/><br/>The premium was last at $162 a tonne.<br/><br/>Three-month tin was up 0.4% at $21,125. Earlier in the session it touched $21,360, the highest since April 2019.<br/><br/>LEAD:&nbsp;Cancelled warrants at more than 40% of stocks are behind the narrowing discount for the cash over the three-month lead contracts.<br/><br/>Three-month lead was up 0.4% at $2,059.<br/><br/>OTHER METALS:&nbsp;Aluminium was firmer at $2,032.50, zinc gained 0.7% to $2,811 and nickel added 1% to $17,576 a tonne.</p>