METALS-LME copper rebounds; China demand worries may cap gains
SINGAPORE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - London copper futures edged higher on Monday, bouncing back after losses in the previous session, although a shaky outlook for demand from the world's top copper consumer China could limit gains.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4 percent to $8,075 a tonne by 0118 GMT.
* Copper hit a 2-1/2-month high near $8,300 early in January as risk assets rose after the United States averted a fiscal crisis of steep tax increases and spending cuts. But prices have mostly fallen since then amid signs Chinese demand remains weak.
* China's copper imports fell 6.6 percent in December from the previous month and most Chinese consumers will likely hold off on spot purchases of refined copper until after the Lunar New Year break in February.
* The most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was steady at 58,440 yuan ($9,400) a tonne.
* China's gross domestic product data, due out on Friday, will be the key number to watch as investors seek confirmation of whether the world's No. 2 economy snapped seven quarters of slower growth in the fourth quarter. A Reuters poll expects China's economic growth to have quickened to 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter from 7.4 percent in July-September.
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MARKETS NEWS
* The euro rose to its strongest level since April 2012 against the dollar, sustaining last week's rally after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last Thursday gave no indication that the ECB would cut interest rates in the near future.
* Asian stocks got off to subdued start with Tokyo closed for a public holiday, while U.S. crude futures rose after the start-up of the expanded Seaway Pipeline late last week, a major project that could ease distortions in global oil markets.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0900 Italy Industrial output Nov
1000 Euro zone Industrial production Nov 2100 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks
Base metals prices at 0118 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 8075.00 30.00 +0.37 1.84 SHFE CU FUT APR3 58440 00 +0.00 1.32 HG COPPER MAR3 367.30 1.90 +0.52 0.56 LME Alum 2102.00 4.50 +0.21 1.50 SHFE AL FUT APR3 15325 00 +0.00 -0.13 LME Zinc 2021.75 6.75 +0.33 -2.02 SHFE ZN FUT APR3 15430 -115 -0.74 -0.74 LME Nickel 17551.00 1.00 +0.01 2.31 LME Lead 2305.00 0.00 +0.00 -1.50 SHFE PB FUT 0.00 -15190.00 -100.00 -100.00 LME Tin 24879.00 -21.00 -0.08 6.32 LME/Shanghai arb^ 503
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ($1 = 6.2161 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Himani Sarkar)