MANILA  - London copper rebounded from a three-week low on Thursday after China said it was eyeing cuts in banks' reserve requirement ratios (RRR) and other measures to spur economic growth, which could support copper demand in the world's top user.

Nickel prices in London and Shanghai also jumped, supported by gains in Chinese steel futures.

China's state radio quoted a cabinet meeting as saying on Wednesday that Beijing will use targeted reduction in RRR and other monetary policy tools to boost credit support for small firms and keep economic growth steady.

"This suggests that a RRR cut may be imminent in the coming weeks, which could be supportive of market sentiment," Singapore bank OCBC said in a note.

Fears of a full-blown trade war with the United States have magnified concerns about the outlook for the world's second-largest economy, following weaker-than-expected growth data for May.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 1 percent at $6,839.50 a tonne by 0128 GMT, recovering from Wednesday's low of $6,772, its weakest since May 30. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-traded August copper contract gained 0.2 percent to 51,930 yuan ($8,011) a tonne.

NICKEL PRICES: LME nickel rose 1.3 percent to $15,175 a tonne and climbed 2.5 percent to 116,050 yuan in Shanghai, outperforming other base metals.

COPPER SURPLUS: The global world refined copper market showed a 55,000 tonnes surplus in March, compared with a 87,000 tonnes surplus in February, the International Copper Study Group said.

VEDANTA LEAK: Vedanta Ltd said a sulphuric acid leak from a tank at its southern Indian copper smelter was severe and inaction could lead to serious environmental consequences.

EU TARIFFS: The European Union will begin charging import duties of 25 percent on a range of U.S. products on Friday, in response to U.S tariffs imposed on EU steel and aluminium early this month, the European Commission said.

U.S. PROBE: The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating recent steel price hikes to determine whether some market participants are "illegitimately profiteering" from new tariffs, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.

ALUMINIUM OUTPUT: Global primary aluminium output in May rose to 5.441 million tonnes from a revised 5.303 million tonnes in April, International Aluminium Institute data showed.

RUSAL: Sanctions-hit Russian aluminium producer Rusal restarted production at its Friguia alumina refinery in Guinea on Wednesday after a six-year pause, the West African country's mines minister said.

U.S. DATA: U.S. home sales unexpectedly fell for the second straight month in May as an acute shortage of properties on the market pushed house prices to a record high.

MARKETS: The dollar hovered near an 11-month high against a basket of currencies, supported by a rise in U.S. yields, while Asian shares were subdued.   

© Reuters News 2018