Nickel Asia sees limited financial impact from audit Chinese...

• Nickel Asia sees limited financial impact from audit
• Chinese refined zinc copper imports jump 65 pct in June
• ANZ sees nickel prices nearing $12,000 on Philippine supply risk

(Adds details, quotes; changes dateline from MELBOURNE)
Zinc touched its highest in 14 months on Thursday and nickel hit an eight-month peak as speculators kept buying, but analysts cautioned that rallies were vulnerable to corrections.
A softer dollar and higher risk appetite also supported the industrial metals complex.
"I doubt that the most recent price increases are lasting, given that there is a relatively high amount of speculative money in the market," said analyst Daniel Briesemann at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"I would expect a short-term price correction for almost all the base metals, but later I think prices can go higher again because of the mostly tight fundamental situation."
Benchmark zinc CMZN3 on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.4 percent at $2,255.50 a tonne at 1032 GMT after touching $2,272.50, the highest since May 19 last year.
Zinc prices have taken off after the closure of several large mines since late last year and final Chinese trade data on Thursday highlighted the shortages, showing imports of refined zinc jumped 65 percent in June.
Investors have also been bullish on nickel due to tighter supplies after top ore exporter Philippines launched a environmental crackdown on mines.
LME nickel prices CMNI3 gained 0.8 percent to $10,665 a tonne after rallying to $10,730, the strongest since Oct. 12.
While the likelihood of the Philippine nickel industry being completely shut down is low, the amount and the importance of the supply source at risk warrants a substantial premium, said ANZ in a note. It expects nickel prices to push towards $12,000.
The Philippine mining minister has asked Nickel Asia Corp to stop shipping nickel ore from an island to China, citing environmental concerns, but the company said on Thursday that it expected any impact to be limited.
LME copper CMCU3 dipped 0.3 percent to $4,950 a tonne, after having hit $5,000, the highest since Friday.
A weaker dollar bolsters commodities priced in the U.S. currency by making them cheaper for buyers using other currencies.
Price gains across the base metals complex this year have been bolstered by a recovery in oil prices and a shallower rate rise path in the United States following the Brexit vote, said analyst Lachlan Shaw of UBS in Melbourne. However, gains may prove short-lived, he added.
"We can see this holding up the prices. But as for the demand outlook, we think it will sequentially weaken in the second half."