Updates prices

By Eric Onstad

LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) -Aluminium prices spiked on Tuesday on worries over potential EU sanctions while copper pushed higher on hopes that top metals consumer China will unleash more stimulus to boost its economy.

Three-month aluminium CMAL3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 3.2% at $2,228.50 a metric ton by 1700 GMT for the biggest daily percentage gain in a month.

The metal used in construction, transport and packaging spiked after Poland and the Baltic states called for the European Union to ban imports of Russian aluminium and liquefied natural gas.

Benchmark LME copper CMCU3 rose 0.7% to $8,405 a metric ton after edging lower on Monday.

China's cabinet on Monday pledged more fund injections in the capital market to stabilise market confidence. One option included mobilising about 2 trillion yuan ($278.9 billion) to bolster the stock market, Bloomberg News reported.

"The speculation about life support to the stock market is aiding sentiment. It's got the renminbi trading stronger and that's feeding through to some better price action," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.

Positive technical signals were also in place, with copper having broken above both the 200-day moving average and a downtrend in place since Dec. 28, when it touched its highest in nearly five months, he added.

Hansen also flagged the prospect of a short-covering rally if copper made further gains after many speculators took bearish bets over the past two weeks. Many of those were on the U.S. Comex market, with the biggest bet on lower prices since July 2022.

"All these shorts haven't much to show for their efforts, so that raises the prospect of some short-covering if we can break above the $3.80 level," Hansen said.

U.S. Comex copper futures HGcv1 rose 0.9% to $3.80 per lb.

Among other metals, LME zinc CMZN3 climbed 2.6% to $2,521 a ton and nickel CMNI3 advanced 1.9% to $16,315. Lead CMPB3 gained 1.9% to $2,165.50 for its highest level in nearly two months while tin CMSN3 jumped 2.2% to a four-month peak of $26,185.

For the top stories in metals, click on TOP/MTL

Reporting by Eric Onstad
Additional reporting by Polina Devitt
Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman

 For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C 
 Foreign exchange rates FX=SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX