By: Royston Wild London 09/06/2011 - Base metals were mixed in LME morning business on Thursday, remaining hemmed to the downside as underlying macroeconomic sentiment remains subdued, with investors eagerly awaiting key eurozone rate and US jobs statements later. Copper dipped back below the psychologically-important $9,000 per tonne mark to a low of $8,958, as fears over the financial economy are keeping overall sentiment across the metals complex under pressure. "Macroeconomic concerns continued to linger [but] we expect the current soft patch in activity to be temporary and anticipate growth momentum to pick up again moving into quarter three," broker Credit Suisse said. A flurry of disappointing datasets in recent weeks - particularly from the US jobs and housing markets - have served to dampen risk appetite in recent weeks and prompt renewed waves of volatility across financial markets. Fears were exacerbated by a statement from Fed chief Ben Bernanke late Tuesday, who acknowledged that the financial rebound there had stalled, while failing to tip the introduction of additional quantitative easing measures after the current stimulus programme ends at the end of this month. Falling equities have continued to reflect investor jitters - bourses mostly fell in Asia overnight, while European exchanges traded flat-lower in early trade. "Concerns over global economic weakness seem to be the main drag on equities, which is hardly a bullish background for the metals," analyst William Adams of FastMarkets noted. The dollar traded around 1.4616 against the euro, still holding off the one-month low of 1.4695 hit on Tuesday. Investors will now eagerly await the latest ECB rate statement at 13:30 BST - rates are expected to be kept on hold at 1.25 percent, although comments from ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet in the subsequent press conference will be closely watched for signs of hikes further down the line. The Bank of England is also due to keep interest rates on hold today, at 0.5 percent. Markets will also be keeping a close eye on the latest round of weekly unemployment claims figures today following a slew of insipid jobs releases in recent weeks - this is anticipated to show a marginally on-week rise to 424,000 new applications. Trade balance and wholesale inventory numbers are also due from the US. COPPER STOCKS RISE TO FRESH 1-YR HIGH Copper pared earlier losses but, at $8,987.75 per tonne, was still $57.25 lower. Inventory data this morning showed stocks rose a net 700 tonnes to 477,850 tonnes overnight, the highest since May 26, 2010. Cancelled warrants - the metal marked for removal - increased 375 tonnes to 19,200 tonnes. Nickel was trading at $22,716 per tonne, up $6. Stocks fell 972 tonnes to 114,162 tonnes. Cancelled warrants dipped 708 tonnes to 6,828 tonnes. Broker Commerzbank noted that Antaike estimates that Chinese nickel pig iron production could leap as much as 50 percent this year to 240,000 tonnes - the material can be used as a substitute for refined nickel. "This could mean continued pressure on nickel prices [but] the situation could change in the summer, though, if the costs of energy-intensive production of nickel pig iron rise significantly due to the anticipated power supply bottlenecks in China and therefore curb production," it noted. Aluminium lost $5 to $2,663 per tonne - stocks and cancelled warrants fell 6,950 tonnes to 4,653,100 and 522,775 tonnes respectively - while zinc shed $15.50 to $2,277.50. Lead - which had risen to its highest since April 21 at $2,585.50 in the previous session - lost $8.25 to $2,568.75 per tonne. Tin was last trading at $25,810 per tonne, a $115 gain - it had fallen to its cheapest since December 9 at $25,470 yesterday. Steel billet was indicated $4 lower at $553/563. Cobalt and molybdenum were offered but not bid at $39,000 and $37,500 per tonne respectively. (Additional reporting by Clara Denina. Editing by Martin Hayes)

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