MUMBAI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's gold futures may make a fresh record in early trade on Tuesday on continued dollar weakness, enhancing the yellow metal's appeal as an alternative investment, analysts said. The benchmark December gold MAUZ9 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) closed 1 percent higher at 16,117 rupees per 10 grams, after hitting a record high of 16,173 rupees in late Monday trade. December gold is likely to open at 16,185/16,200 rupees per 10 grams, said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director, Commtrendz Research. The U.S. dollar and the yen edged down in thin trade ahead of a series of central bank meetings on interest rates. The euro EUR= edged up to $1.4794, having gained 0.35 percent on Monday. [USD/] "Gold (International) may go further up due to central banks like Reserve Bank of India buying gold," said Kunal Shah, an analyst with Nirmal Bang Commodities. Shah saw a range of 16,060-16,220 rupees for MCX gold. The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for $6.8 billion, quietly executing half of a long-planned bullion sale that had threatened to slow gold's rally. [ID:nN02468120] COPPER: India's copper futures may open slightly higher on Tuesday supported by a weak dollar and a slew of positive manufacturing data overnight from China, the U.S. and Europe, analysts said. Investors would also await the key interest rate decision in the U.S. and the comments on the U.S. economy for direction. [nFXDIARY] The most-traded November contract MCCX9 on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) ended 0.4 percent lower at 306.85 rupees per kg in the previous session. November copper may open at 307.5/308 rupees, said Aurobinda Prasad, deputy manager-research, Karvy Comtrade. "A weak dollar and overnight data would help copper, Our bias is on the upside. Resistance is seen at 310 rupees," said Prasad. "Copper may trade in the range of 304-310 rupees, the bias is on the upside," said Abhishek Chauhan, technical analyst, Angel Commodities. A weak dollar typically lifts dollar-denominated copper by making it cheaper for investors outside the U.S. The data flow turned positive on Monday after wobbling last week. Purchasing manager data from China and the U.S Institute of Supply Management lent support with the ISM's manufacturing index closing at 55.7 in October, the highest since April 2006. U.S. home sales and construction activity picked up and euro zone factory activity expanded for the first time in 17 months. [ID:nSP62642] [ID:nPEK121771] [ID:nN02435553] November zinc contract MZIX9 closed up 0.04 percent at 101.90 rupees per kg, while lead for November delivery MLDV9 ended 0.7 percent lower at 106.95 rupees per kg in the previous session. (Reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar; Editing by Harish Nambiar)

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