MUMBAI, Dec 28 (Reuters) - India's copper futures traded up on Monday as supply threats supported sentiment, analysts said. The London Metal Exchange was shut on Monday for Christmas holidays. At 4.45 p.m., benchmark February copper MCCG0 was up 0.6 percent at 341.4 rupees per 100 kg. "Prices of copper are expected to stay strong and are likely to extend gains towards the resistance of 345 levels in the near term," said an analyst with JRG Wealth Management. The latest boost to sentiment came from threats to supply from South America, where 274 union workers plan to down tools early on Monday at the 232,000 tonne-per-year Altonorte copper smelter in Chile. [ID:nN27159011] Elsewhere in the copper-rich nation, nearly 3,000 union workers at the Chuquicamata mine complex, which produces around 4 percent of the world's copper, will vote on whether to accept a final wage offer from state-owned Codelco [CODEL.UL]. [ID:nN27132980] Gains, however, may be capped by a strong dollar, which makes commodities denominated under it expensive. The dollar rose against the yen and held near a recent high on the euro on Monday. London Metal Exchange inventories, at 484,800 tonnes, have risen 42 percent so far this year, their fifth consecutive annual increase, and will see their highest year-end levels since finishing 2002 at more than 850,000 tonnes. At 4.45 p.m., benchmark December zinc MZIZ9 was up 0.68 percent at 117.75 rupees and lead for December delivery MLDZ9 was up 0.23 percent at 109.35 rupees per kg. (Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Harish Nambiar)

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