(Adds analyst comment, updates prices, adds LONDON dateline)

By Eric Onstad

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Friday

ahead of U.S. inflation data that could support future rate cuts

and as some traders bought futures after they failed to break

below key support.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was

up 1.2% at $9,628 per metric ton by 1000 GMT. The contract has

fallen 4.4% in June and is set for a sixth straight weekly loss.

"The push and pull of the base metals market right now is

almost hyper-sensitive to the rate cut outlook," said Nitesh

Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree.

"The ECB and Switzerland have already cut and the question

is when will there be enough cooling of inflation for the Fed to

make its move. The data we've been getting seem to be

supportive, so rate cuts could be relatively soon."

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, the

personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, is due at 1230

GMT.

If annual growth slowed to 2.6% in May, as economists

expect, it may open the way to interest rate cuts later this

year.

There was also buying of copper after it held above a key

support level of $9,480 on Thursday, a trader said. A break

below that could open up more losses to around $9,100.

After advancing to a record high of $11,104.50 on May 20,

copper prices have fallen 14%, partly on sluggish economic data

from China and uncertainty over U.S. interest rates.

"I think we will see copper average around $9,500 per ton

for the year, but prices will likely go above $10,500 by the

year-end, when I suspect we have the first U.S. rate cut," said

StoneX analyst Natalie Scott-Gray.

LME zinc added 1.1% to $2,963, having pared gains

after LME data showed a 9% rebound in inventories to the highest

in nearly three months.

In other metals, LME aluminium gained 1.6% to

$2,531.50 a ton, nickel advanced 1% to $17,280, lead

rose 0.8% to $2,197 and tin climbed 3.2% to

$33,225.

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($1 = 7.2672 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Eric Onstad

Additional reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru

Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)