RTRS:Analysis: Regulators likely lucked out on oil rigging case
* LME copper moves sideways within range
* Greek debt woes still worry
* Investors wary ahead of FOMC meeting
* Chinese govt warns of higher inflation in June
* Coming Up: U.S. FOMC rate decision, Apr; 1630 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes and details)
By Carrie Ho
SHANGHAI, June 22 (Reuters) - London copper fell on
Wednesday but was still rangebound, as investors turned their
attention to the tough austerity measures ahead for Greece and a
U.S. interest rate decision later in the day.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell
0.4 percent to $9,043 a tonne by 0719 GMT, after a 0.8 percent
gain in the previous session.
The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange SCFcv1 fell 0.8 percent to 67,740 yuan per
tonne, after jumping 1 percent previously.
"LME copper is still rangebound, moving within a small range
of only $60 today," said a Sydney- based trader.
"We think that until the price is outside the range of
$8,916 and $9,210 most traders have no reason to change their
positions," he added.
There were few of encouraging factors, a trader in Shanghai
said.
"Copper prices haven't moved a lot lately and there isn't a
lot of good news to buoy prices today. The euro debt crisis has
not been resolved and weakness in the U.S. economy may have
negative consequences on the global economy in the later part of
the year," said Shanghai Dongzheng futures trader Du Xiao Hua.
"Also, with July approaching, people know that the slow
summer season for copper will begin in China soon and demand
will fall from here."
Greece's government will approve its new austerity package
on Wednesday after it survived a confidence vote, clearing the
first hurdle in a battle to secure emergency loans and avert the
euro zone's first sovereign debt default.
But the head of PIMCO, the world's biggest bond fund,
predicted that Greece and other European economies would default
on their debts to resolve their problems as the euro area faces
a debt crisis.
The confidence vote, closely watched outside Greece,
immediately spiked the euro higher , but the gains were
short-lived as traders cited concerns about implementation of
the deeply unpopular austerity measures.
Sales of previously owned U.S. homes hit a six-month low in
May and supply rose, pointing to a housing market still
struggling to regain its footing.
The report, released on Tuesday, was the latest to confirm a
sustained weakness in the U.S. economy through the second
quarter, which has been marked by a sharp slowdown in regional
factory activity, soft retail sales and anemic employment
growth.
The Fed is expected to cut its growth forecast for 2011, but
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke probably will continue to argue the
slowdown is temporary.
China's annual inflation in June will be higher than May's
34-month high of 5.5 percent before moderating in the second
half, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said
on Wednesday.
"Consumer prices may stay at a relatively high level in
coming months, but the overall situation remains controllable,"
the NDRC said in a statement on its website.
In industry news, global miner Rio Tinto is
ready to commit funds for an exploration drive in Central Asia
that it hopes could unearth the world's next giant copper
deposit, a company official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Rio will raise its stake in Ivanhoe Mines , its
partner in the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver project in
Mongolia, to 46.5 percent from 42 percent.
Base metals prices at 0719 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 9043.00 -37.00 -0.41 -5.80
SHFE CU FUT AUG1 67740 -510 -0.75 -5.72
LME Alum 2545.00 4.00 +0.16 3.04
SHFE AL FUT AUG1 17015 -20 -0.12 1.04
HG COPPER JUL1 407.75 0.10 -0.27 -8.15
LME Zinc 2213.00 1.00 +0.05 -9.82
SHFE ZN FUT AUG1 17155 -25 -0.15 -11.91
LME Nickel 21903.00 3.00 +0.01 -11.50
LME Lead 2449.25 -10.75 -0.44 -3.95
SHFE PB FUT 16720 -130 -0.77 -8.88
LME Tin 25280.00 -170.00 -0.67 -6.02
LME/Shanghai arb 956
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE
third month
Shanghai lead launched on March 24
(Reporting by Carrie Ho; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)