* U.S. still faces possible credit downgrade by S&P * Investors concerned about debt contagion spreading to Italy * Chilean strike still supports, but may end soon * Coming up: U.S. personal income, June; 1230 GMT (Updates prices, adds quotes and details) By Carrie Ho SHANGHAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - LME copper edged down on Wednesday as a last-minute deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling failed to dispel longer-term worries about growth in the world's largest economy, while financial market pressure on Italy stepped up. The U.S. still faces a possible credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor's in the near term and by Moody's Investor Services in 12 to 18 months. Investors are eyeing key U.S. jobs data due on Friday for clues on how the uncertainty has been affecting economic numbers, after Tuesday's disappointing June consumer spending data. But copper's strong fundamentals are expected to limit losses, as a strike continues at the world's biggest mine. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.1 percent to $9,669 a tonne by 0441 GMT, after rising 0.3 percent in the previous session. The most active October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 edged up 0.2 percent to 72,180 yuan per tonne, catching up with overnight gains in London after falling 1.9 percent in the last session. "LME copper is pushed down by economic worries surrounding the U.S. economy and euro zone debt problems," Jinrui Futures analyst Zhao Kai said. "I'm pessimistic about prices in the medium term, but I think prices won't fall too much today, given that it is still good news that the U.S. has avoided the fate of default." Moody's on Tuesday confirmed its Aaa rating of the United States, citing the decision to raise the debt limit, but assigned a negative outlook. Standard & Poor's, which many predict will cut its rating, has yet to give its opinion of the deficit reduction and debt ceiling deal hammered out in Washington and signed into law on Tuesday. S&P, like Moody's prior to Tuesday's decision, has the rating on review for a possible downgrade. Moody's negative outlook means a downgrade is possible in the next 12 to 18 months. Euro zone debt worries, a major factor hammering financial markets this year, edged up another notch as five-year Italian bond yields reached the same level as Spain's, in a sign Rome is overtaking Madrid as a key focus of investors' concern about debt sustainability. Across the Atlantic, U.S. consumer spending was down in June for the first time in nearly two years and incomes barely rose, signs the economy lacked momentum as the second quarter drew to a close. Sales of U.S. autos, a major user of metals, ticked higher in July, but the industry's top salesmen cautioned the prospect for a second-half recovery remained clouded with consumers hurting in a weak economy. A strike at the world's top copper mine, Chile's Escondida, continues, but a union leader said on Tuesday that negotiations are on the right path to end the conflict. All eyes are now on the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, which may determine the price direction of copper. "The data is very important to copper market and to the general market sentiment. If it turns out worse than expected, copper prices can slide from here," said Minmetals Futures analyst Yu Ye. Base metals prices at 0441 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 9669.00 -11.00 -0.11 0.72 SHFE CU FUT OCT1 72180 170 +0.24 0.46 LME Alum 2579.50 -3.50 -0.14 4.43 SHFE AL FUT OCT1 18545 205 +1.12 10.12 HG COPPER SEP1 439.35 -0.10 -0.03 -1.04 LME Zinc 2438.00 -2.00 -0.08 -0.65 SHFE ZN FUT OCT1 18490 35 +0.19 -5.06 LME Nickel 24550.00 -250.00 -1.01 -0.81 LME Lead 2565.00 4.00 +0.16 0.59 SHFE PB FUT 17250 60 +0.35 -5.99 LME Tin 27200.00 -50.00 -0.18 1.12 LME/Shanghai arb 676 Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month (Reporting by Carrie Ho; Editing by Michael Urquhart)

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