METALS-Shanghai copper falls to two-month low on economy concerns
SINGAPORE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper dropped to a two-month low on Monday, tracking weakness in the London market in the previous session on concerns over the pace of global economic recovery and the outlook for the U.S. Federal Reserve's easy monetary policy. London copper edged up, snapping a six-day losing streak that matched a similar run in February last year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had inched up 0.3 percent to $7,825 a tonne by 0112 GMT, after posting a weekly loss of nearly 5 percent, its sharpest since mid-December, 2011.
* The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell nearly 1 percent to 57,210 yuan a tonne. It dropped to a two-month low of 57,090 yuan earlier.
* LME copper stocks rose to 424,350 tonnes on Feb 21, the highest level since end of October, 2011. <MCUSTX-TOTAL>
* Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to testify to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday, and speak in San Francisco on Friday, which investors hope will give clues on the Fed's attitude towards its ultra-loose monetary policy.
* Bernanke downplayed worries the Fed's monetary policy has fuelled asset bubbles that could hurt the economy in a meeting with bond dealers and investors in early February, Bloomberg reported.
* Italy started voting on Sunday in one of the most unpredictable elections in years, with many voters expressing rage against a discredited elite and doubt that a government will emerge strong enough to combat a severe economic crisis.
* Britain suffered its first ever sovereign ratings downgrade from a major agency on Friday when Moody's stripped the country of its coveted top-notch triple-A rating, dealing a major blow to finance minister George Osborne.
* Eramet is not prepared to give up majority control of a nickel mining project in Indonesia and has delayed a final investment decision until next year as it pursues talks with authorities there, the French group's head said on Friday.
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MARKETS NEWS
* U.S. stocks rose on Friday as Dow component Hewlett-Packard surged on strong results .
* The yen skidded to a 33-month low on Monday on reports that an advocate of aggressive monetary easing could soon head the Bank of Japan, while sterling was broadly lower following Moody's downgrade of Britain.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0145 China HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI 1330 U.S. National activity index 1530 U.S. Dallas Fed Manufacturing index
PRICES
Base metals prices at 0112 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 7825.00 20.00 +0.26 -1.31 SHFE CU FUT JUN3 57210 -510 -0.88 -1.31 HG COPPER MAR3 353.45 0.15 +0.04 -3.23 LME Alum 2049.50 1.50 +0.07 -1.04 SHFE AL FUT MAY3 14855 -95 -0.64 -3.19 LME Zinc 2090.00 2.00 +0.10 1.28 SHFE ZN FUT MAY3 15510 -35 -0.23 -0.23 LME Nickel 16900.00 -40.00 -0.24 -1.49 LME Lead 2304.00 0.00 +0.00 -1.54 SHFE PB FUT 0.00 -15210.00 -100.00 -100.00 LME Tin 23105.00 0.00 +0.00 -1.26 LME/Shanghai arb^ 19
COMEX contracts shows the most active month
(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Joseph Radford)