METALS-Copper slips from 6-week high, U.S. woes weigh
SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Reuters) - London copper dropped for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday, pulling away from six-week highs reached in the prior session, as U.S. economic and fiscal worries countered optimism that top copper user China is on the road to recovery.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased 0.1 percent to $7,996 a tonne by 0111 GMT, after peaking at 8,045 on Monday, its loftiest since Oct. 19.
* The most-traded copper contract for March delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was off 0.2 percent at 57,460 yuan ($9,200) a tonne.
* A surprise contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity in November eclipsed upbeat Chinese factory data, suggesting the world outside Beijing remains on shaky ground.
* The White House dismissed a "fiscal cliff" proposal from congressional Republicans that included tax reforms and spending cuts, saying it did not meet President Barack Obama's pledge to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
* Brazil's Vale SA, the world's second-largest mining company, cut its 2013 capital spending by 24 percent after a global slowdown and a drop in iron ore prices led the company to rethink expansion.
* A battle over the control of Indonesia's resources is intensifying ahead of 2014 elections, creating legal uncertainty that threatens to drive off investment and hurt long-term output in one of the world's top sources of coal, gas and metals.
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MARKETS NEWS
* The euro rose slightly in early Asian trading on Tuesday, moving back towards a six-week high against the dollar and a seven-month peak against the yen marked a day earlier on upbeat news from Spain and Greece.
* Asian shares dipped after U.S. manufacturing activity hit a three-year low in November.
* U.S. crude held around $89 per barrel as weak manufacturing data from the United States and worries over its fiscal deficit offset supply concerns caused by tensions in the Middle East.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0330 Australia RBA cash rate Dec 1000 Euro zone Producer prices Oct 1100 Brazil Industrial output Oct 1245 U.S. ICSC weekly chain store sales 1355 U.S. Redbook weekly retail sales 1445 U.S. ISM-New York index Nov 2130 U.S. API weekly crude stocks
Base metals prices at 0111 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 7996.00 -9.00 -0.11 5.21 SHFE CU FUT MAR3 57460 -90 -0.16 3.79 HG COPPER MAR3 364.80 -1.05 -0.29 6.17 LME Alum 2112.00 -8.00 -0.38 4.55 SHFE AL FUT FEB3 15470 10 +0.06 -2.37 LME Zinc 2040.00 0.00 +0.00 10.57 SHFE ZN FUT FEB3 15395 -40 -0.26 4.06 LME Nickel 17547.00 47.00 +0.27 -6.22 LME Lead 2255.00 -1.00 -0.04 10.81 SHFE PB FUT 0.00 -15410.00 -100.00 -100.00 LME Tin 21855.00 0.00 +0.00 13.83 LME/Shanghai arb^ 862
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ($1 = 6.2279 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Ed Davies)