METALS-Copper edges off ten-day lows on arbitrage buying, risk appetite
SINGAPORE, March 12 (Reuters) - London copper edged higher on Tuesday, extending its recovery from a ten-day trough hit the prior session, buoyed by optimism about global economic prospects and as a narrowing price gap encouraged Chinese traders to buy the international contract.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose by $7,771 a tonne by 0126 GMT, reversing small losses from the previous session when it finished down 0.13 percent.
* Copper prices dipped to their second lowest this year, at $7,667 a tonne on Monday. Prices have shed almost seven percent from the year's highs hit in early February to log 2 percent losses for the year.
* The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.12 percent to 56,750 yuan ($9,100) a tonne.
* The differential between Shanghai and London prices has narrowed to 205 yuan ($32.97) from around 1200 yuan in December.
* The economic outlook in bamajor industrialised economies is improving with the United States and Japan leading the way, the OECD said on Monday, adding that activity in the euro zone was also picking up.
* Intense lobbying by central government agencies and debt-laden local governments is keeping People's Bank of China hawks in check after inflation jumped to a 10-month high, forcing the central bank to keep its monetary policy setting in neutral.
* Global miner Rio Tinto RIO.L has slowed progress of its multi-billion investment in Guinea's untapped Simandou iron ore deposit and slashed staff, government sources in the West African country said on Monday.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares inched higher on Tuesday, following Wall Street's record close overnight as growing confidence in the U.S. economy overrode concerns in the euro zone, while the yen slipped to fresh lows on speculation over imminent monetary easing.
* The yen carved out a fresh 3-1/2 year low versus the greenback on Tuesday and fell to a 4-1/2 year trough on the Australian dollar as investors reacted to a media report that the Bank of Japan might deliver bold stimulus sooner than expected. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0500 Japan Consumer confidence index 0530 India Industrial output 1130 U.S. NFIB business optimism index 1145 U.S. ICSC weekly chain store sales 1255 U.S. Redbook weekly retail sales 2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks
PRICES
Base metals prices at 0126 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 7771.00 16.00 +0.21 -1.99 SHFE CU FUT JUN3 56750 70 +0.12 -1.61 HG COPPER MAY3 352.35 0.65 +0.18 -3.53 LME Alum 1962.00 10.50 +0.54 -5.26 SHFE AL FUT JUN3 14855 -70 -0.47 -3.19 LME Zinc 1974.25 13.75 +0.70 -4.33 SHFE ZN FUT JUN3 15230 -315 -2.03 -2.03 LME Nickel 16805.00 -70.00 -0.41 -2.04 LME Lead 2205.00 9.00 +0.41 -5.77 SHFE PB FUT 0.00 -14765.00 -100.00 -100.00 LME Tin 23620.00 -80.00 -0.34 0.94 LME/Shanghai arb^ -205
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ($1 = 6.2181 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Richard Pullin)