METALS-LME copper near 4-mth top after China factory data
SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - London copper rose on Friday to hold near four-month highs struck the session before after China's factory output grew in January, bolstering confidence in a global economic recovery.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed by 0.45 percent to $8,202 a tonne by 0105 GMT, reversing losses from the previous session when it retreated after hitting the highest in nearly four months.
* Copper prices rallied to $8,291.25 a tonne on Thursday which was the loftiest since Oct. 5 before profit taking pulled prices down by 0.74 percent on the day.
* The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged down 0.13 percent to 59,480 yuan ($9,600) a tonne.
* Growth in China's giant manufacturing sector hit a two-year high in January as domestic demand strengthened, a private survey showed, underlining hopes the nation's economic recovery is slowly gaining momentum.
* China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) eased to 50.4 in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, missing market expectations and underscoring that the economy is making only a mild recovery from its weakest year since 1999.
* Hiring by U.S. employers likely held steady in January, pointing to modest growth in the economy despite worries that budget battles in Washington could derail the recovery.
* Mexican copper miner and railroad operator Grupo Mexico reported a fourth-quarter profit of $716.6 million on Thursday, up 15 percent from the same period last year, buoyed by improving metals prices.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares recovered but were capped on Friday ahead of Chinese manufacturing and U.S. nonfarm payrolls reports due later in the session that will offer more clues about the health of global economies, while the yen hit new lows.
* The yen plumbed fresh multi-year lows against its G3 peers on Friday, having posted its biggest monthly decline in 12 years versus the euro as the market positioned for more aggressive easing from the Bank of Japan.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0100 China NBS Manufacturing PMI 0145 China HSBC Manufacturing PMI Final 0500 India HSBC Markit Manufacturing PMI 0843 Italy Markit/ADACI Manufacturing PMI 0848 France Markit Manufacturing PMI 0853 Germany Markit/BME Manufacturing PMI 0858 Euro zone Markit Manufacturing PMI 1000 Euro zone Inflation 1000 Euro zone Unemployment rate 1330 U.S. Non-farm payrolls 1330 U.S. Unemployment rate 1500 U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI 1500 U.S. Construction spending
PRICES
Base metals prices at 0105 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 8202.00 37.00 +0.45 3.44 SHFE CU FUT MAY3 59480 -80 -0.13 3.12 HG COPPER MAR3 373.30 0.10 +0.03 2.20 LME Alum 2091.00 1.00 +0.05 0.97 SHFE AL FUT MAY3 15330 -15 -0.10 -0.10 LME Zinc 2141.00 -4.00 -0.19 3.76 SHFE ZN FUT MAY3 16075 530 +3.41 3.41 LME Nickel 18320.00 -30.00 -0.16 6.79 LME Lead 2430.00 -1.00 -0.04 3.85 SHFE PB FUT 0.00 -15545.00 -100.00 -100.00 LME Tin 24750.00 0.00 +0.00 5.77 LME/Shanghai arb^ 386
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
($1 = 6.2188 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Ed Davies)