NEW YORK June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. copper futures trimmed earlier losses and steadied near the psychological $3 per lb level Wednesday morning after a jump in U.S. industrial output helped to offset a five-month low in housing starts. For detailed report on global copper markets, click on [MET/L] * Copper for July delivery HGN0 dipped 1.75 cents to $2.9870 per lb by 10:31 a.m. EDT (1431 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. * Range from $2.9540 to $3.0490. * COMEX estimated copper futures volume at 16,178 lots by 9 a.m. * Copper off earlier lows on back of 1.2 percent surge in U.S. industrial output in May - Sterling Smith, an analyst for Country Hedging Inc in St. Paul, Minnesota. * Industrial production data outweighed disappointing housing data, reflecting patchy U.S. recovery - Smith. [ID:nN16144404] * Copper market at important juncture near $3/lb. Firmer price action will detract from talk of double-dip recession - Matthew Zeman, head of trading with LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago. * Ongoing divergence in rate of recovery among the world's richest nations, as European debt crisis continued to hamper economies across the continent * One-in-four chance of a double-dip in the euro zone and Britain, 15 percent chance of a U.S. slump, and a 20 percent chance for Japan - Reuters poll. [ID:nLDE65F0QD] * Copper capped by retreat in euro versus dollar amid fresh concerns about Spain's credit and banking system. [USD/] [ID:nLDE65F0GX] [ID:nLDE65F0GD] * London Metal Exchange copper stocks <0#LME-STOCKS> dropped 2,375 tonnes to 459,150 tonnes, down more than 20 percent since middle of February. * COMEX copper inventories flat at 101,925 short tons as of Tuesday. * LME copper for three-months delivery CMCU3 last traded at $6,630 per tonne, from Tuesday's close at $6,600. (Reporting by Chris Kelly; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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