METALS-Copper edges up as China's economy picks up pace
SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - London copper edged up on Monday after economic growth in top metals consumer China picked up pace in the fourth quarter, although annual growth slowed to its lowest since 1999.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange inched up by 0.17 percent to $8,075 a tonne by 0113 GMT. It hit a one-week high of $8,130 a tonne in the previous session before closing little changed.
* After bursting to 2-1/2-month highs near $8,250 a tonne at the beginning of the year, copper prices have struggled to find momentum and last week touched their lowest for the year at $7,920 a tonne.
* The most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.10 percent to 58,320 yuan ($9,400) a tonne.
* China's economy grew at its slowest pace in 13 years in 2012, though a year-end spurt supported by infrastructure spending and a jump in trade signalled the foundation for the stable growth path Beijing says is vital for economic reform may be in sight.
* U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly deteriorated for a second straight month to its lowest in over a year in January, with many consumers citing fallout from the recent "fiscal cliff" debate in Washington, a survey released on Friday showed.
* Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives backed away on Friday from a fiscal clash with President Barack Obama next month that could have risked a government default and chaos in financial markets, shifting to a new, less aggressive stance.
* Iron ore prices have nearly doubled over the past four months, delighting producers, yet the surge is hindering expansion of iron ore mines in Western Australia, the site of the world's largest known deposit.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares edged lower on Monday, taking a breather after hitting multi-month highs, while the yen touched a new low ahead of the outcome of the Bank of Japan policy meeting this week amid expectations for bold monetary easing measures.
* The yen sank to a fresh 2-1/2-year low against the greenback on Monday with investors giving the currency a wide berth in the lead up to the BOJ meeting that could see the central bank commit to aggressive reflationary policy.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany producer prices Dec 1600 Eurogroup meeting in Brussels
PRICES
Base metals prices at 0113 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 8075.00 14.00 +0.17 1.84 SHFE CU FUT APR3 58320 -60 -0.10 1.11 HG COPPER MAR3 367.45 -0.45 -0.12 0.60 LME Alum 2052.75 8.75 +0.43 -0.88 SHFE AL FUT APR3 15290 05 +0.03 -0.36 LME Zinc 2038.00 4.00 +0.20 -1.24 SHFE ZN FUT APR3 15435 -110 -0.71 -0.71 LME Nickel 17600.00 50.00 +0.28 2.59 LME Lead 2307.00 6.00 +0.26 -1.41 SHFE PB FUT -- -- -- -- LME Tin 25025.00 0.00 +0.00 6.94 LME/Shanghai arb^ 400
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ($1 = 6.2154 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)