Shanghai copper futures slipped 2.7 percent on Thursday after London futures fell overnight under pressure from more weak data from the United States and Europe. Hopes of a recovery in the global economy receded further after U.S. retail sales fell at a steeper-than-expected rate in December and eurozone industrial production plunged for the seventh month running in November. That was compounded on Thursday when Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell a record 16.2 percent in November from the previous month. "The macro data is still very weak. There are no real signs of improvement nor that the stimulus packages are feeding into demand, and at least for the first quarter, it's hard to see an improvement in fundamentals," Barclays Capital analyst Yingxi Yu said. "The start-of-the-year rally pushed prices higher and has created a tempting short selling opportunity. We continue to see downside potential, perhaps more so for copper than some of the other metals that are well below marginal costs." Three-month London Metal Exchange copper dipped $50, or 1.5 percent, to $3,235, having shed 2.5 percent on Wednesday. Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc reported annual copper output rose 3 percent in the fourth quarter in stark contrast to iron ore output, which fell 18 percent. "Three percent growth in copper output will only make the market situation worse. Copper is over-supplied, so expect the price trend to be lower," a dealer in Sydney said. "Trade will be volatile within that trend, with higher highs and lower lows. The bottom should be around $2,580 -- that was a big technical support area during the rally in the past few years." Benchmark third month Shanghai copper fell 760 yuan to 26,940 yuan. "Shanghai copper fell after the losses in London, which were weighed by poor data and falling oil prices," said Zoe Wang, an analyst at China International Futures in Shanghai. "Copper in Shanghai will remain volatile for a while, as the bearish economic outlook battles with relatively tight domestic physical supply." Shanghai copper stocks, though up from recent lows, are still just enough for 2-½ days of domestic consumption, whereas LME stocks, at a five-year high of 382,150 tonnes, are enough to supply the world for over a week. China's imports of unwrought copper, including anode, refined metal and copper alloy, surged 74.3 percent on the year in December but fell 1.3 percent in 2008 from the previous year, Customs figures showed on Thursday, raising fears that stocks may see a hefty rise when weekly data is released on Friday. LME aluminium fell $20 to $1,475 a tonne, while zinc lost $10 to $1,255. Shanghai zinc fell 2.3 percent to 11,040 yuan a tonne. Metals prices at 0520 GMT: Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2008 Pct chg 09 LME Cu 3235.00 -50.00 -1.52 3060.00 5.72 SHFE Cu* 26940.00 -760.00 -2.74 23840.00 13.00 LME Alum 1475.00 -20.00 -1.34 1535.00 -3.91 SHFE Alum* 11915.00 -120.00 -1.00 11540.00 3.25 COMEX Cu** 147.30 0.00 +0.00 139.50 5.59 LME Zinc 1255.00 -10.00 -0.79 1208.00 3.89 SHFE Zinc 11040.00 -255.00 -2.26 10120.00 9.09 LME Nickel 10550.00 -300.00 -2.76 11700.00 -9.83 LME Lead 1105.00 -25.00 -2.21 999.00 10.61 LME Tin 11075.00 -175.00 -1.56 10700.00 3.50 LME/Shanghai arb^ -986 Dollar/yuan 6.8359 \ 6.8368 ** 1st contract month for COMEX copper * 3rd contact month for SHFE aluminium, copper and zinc ^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month

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