MELBOURNE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - London nickel fell more than 3 percent on Tuesday, leading the base metals complex lower as
"risk off" sentiment soured share markets and safe-haven buying lifted the dollar. The dollar has risen as a rout in global equities prompted
anxious investors to cut exposure to riskier assets and seek shelter in the relative safety of the greenback. A stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive for buyers holding other
currencies. But given a pick up in global manufacturing and supply shortfalls in some metals, Citibank suggested dips offered an
opportunity to buy. "The recent sell-off in rates and equities, and spike in VIX, presents an opportunity to rotate into industrial metals,"
Citibank said in a report. "We recommend asset managers raise their exposure to industrial metals over the coming month, particularly at the
expense of bonds and other fixed income, consistent with... our own constructive 1H18 outlook for industrial metals – most
notably towards zinc and copper." FUNDAMENTALS: * COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper slid 1.5 percent to $7,064.50 a tonne by 0547 GMT, paring 1.8 percent
gains from the previous session and still holding above the $7,000 mark that has acted as a price floor for most of the year. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper erased overnight
gains to slip 0.4 percent to 52,810 yuan ($8,405) a tonne. * NICKEL: LME nickel fell as much as 3.6 percent earlier and was trading down 2.7 percent at $13,370 a tonne. Any
break of support at Friday's low of $13,185 would take prices back to Jan. 24 levels. Prices in January struck a 2-1/2 year top at $14,000 a tonne. Other LME metals fell 1 percent to 2
percent. * SUPPORT: Steel-related commodities were among a handful that managed to evade the global market rout that followed Wall
Street's biggest decline since 2011. * CHINA IMPORTS: Traders noted that the import window for copper into China is open, potentially supporting prices. One
saw limited inflows given traders will not want to risk holding stock over the Lunar New Year holidays which start Feb. 15. * ALUMINIUM: Russian aluminium giant Rusal plans
to boost the share of value-added products (VAP) to between 50 percent to 52 percent of total aluminium sales this year from 47
percent in 2017 because of strong demand and its new VAP capacity, it said on Monday. * DRC: Mining companies operating in Democratic Republic of
Congo are mounting a coordinated campaign against a new mining code they say will stifle investment there, Randgold's chief executive told Reuters.
