BEIJING, Aug 29 (Reuters) -Prices of base metals fell on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar steadied and made it more expensive to buy the greenback-priced commodities, while lingering fears over demand from top consumer China also weighed on sentiment.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 slid 0.4% to $9,222 per metric ton by 0204 GMT, while the most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 was down 1.6% at 73,880 yuan ($10,364.32) a ton.

The dollar steadied as it nursed some of its steep losses from previous sessions, with traders looking ahead to a key U.S. inflation reading at the end of the week that could offer further clues on the outlook for rates there.

Adding to the downward pressure were concerns about demand as China's economy proved to be weakening amid a protracted property crisis.

The world's leading miner BHP BHP.N downgraded its forecast for China's copper growth to 1-2% this year, as housing completions, the major indicator for copper end-use in housing, is expected to contract sharply in 2024, the company said in a commodity outlook issued on Tuesday.

LME aluminium CMAL3 dropped 1.5% to $2,458.50 a ton, nickel CMNI3 shed 0.4% to $16,960, zinc CMZN3 moved down 0.5% to $2,866.50, lead CMPB3 decreased 0.8% to $2,067.50 and tin CMSN3 was down 1.6% at $32,100.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 declined 1.5% to 19,675 yuan a ton, lead SPBc1 slipped 0.9% to 17,385 yuan, while nickel SNIcv1 was 0.6% lower to 131,380 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 trimmed 0.9% lower to 23,925 yuan and tin SSNcv1 fell 2.3% to 261,640 yuan.

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($1 = 7.1283 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Siyi Liu and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Rashmi Aich

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