MELBOURNE, Feb 22 (Reuters) - London metals fell on Thursday after U.S. policymakers backed the need for more rate rises,
pushing up the dollar and putting pressure on metals as trading in Shanghai resumed after a week-long break.
"I think this sort of consolidation (in metals) on dollar strength is just short term," said analyst Helen Lau of
brokerage Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. "The most important thing is overall the fundamentals in
both China and overseas markets are on a stronger footing than last year ... people will eventually come back to look at the
fundamentals." FUNDAMENTALS: * LME: London Metal Exchange copper fell 1.3 percent to $7,025.50 a tonne by 0600 GMT, having ended up 0.4 percent in
the previous session. Support is seen at the 30-day moving average of $6,826 a tonne. * SHFE: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper pared
early gains of 1 percent to trade last at 52,720 yuan ($8,301) a tonne, still up 0.3 percent. Shfe nickel and lead
held small gains while other metals were flat or lower. * Shfe aluminium extended its pre-holiday decline
to its lowest in more than a year as traders priced in declining raw materials costs and increaing production after China's
winter pollution controls expire next month. * DOLLAR: The dollar rose to a one-week high against a
basket of major currencies on Thursday, after minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting showed policymakers were more
confident of the need to keep raising interest rates. * COBALT: Apple Inc is talking to major cobalt
producers to secure supplies of the material vital for the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power its mobile phones,
three cobalt industry sources said. * COPPER SUPPLY: Southern Copper Corp will invest about $2.5
billion in Peruvian copper project Michiquillay, with production of 225,000 tonnes of copper per year expected to start in 2015,
the company said in a statement on Wednesday. * OTHER METALS: LME nickel and zinc fell more than 2 percent, while aluminium and lead
shed around 1 percent. Zinc turnover was the highest of all contracts at nearly 5000 lots as prices fell through supports.
