* China's Aug services PMI growth weakest on record * Copper industrial action threats in Peru, Indonesia * Nickel cancelled warrants highest in four yrs By Harpreet Bhal LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Copper fell on Monday due to growing uncertainty about the health of the world's largest economies following a historic low reading for China's services sector index and a disappointing U.S. jobs report last week, although threats of supply disruptions helped limit further falls in prices. Growing unease about global recovery prospects hit demand for riskier assets such as equities, which fell sharply in Europe, while the dollar rose to a one-month high against a basket of currencies after higher-yielding currencies were also caught-up in the market's risk aversion. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. unit more expensive for holders of other currencies. Latest data from China showed the country's fledging services sector grew in August at its lowest pace on record, adding to concern about the pace of economic growth in the world's larger economies. This followed a weak labour market report from the United States on Friday, which showed employment ground to a halt in August. Benchmark copper fell to $8,973 a tonne by 0930 GMT, down more than 1 percent from Friday's close at $9,076. The metal, used in power and construction, earlier fell to a one-week low of $8,969 a tonne. "Copper is stuck between the uncertainty about economic growth and its own tight fundamentals," said Robin Bhar, analyst at Credit Agricole. "On the one hand the economic forces are bearing down on it but on the other hand the tight fundamentals are helping, particularly the amount of labour unrest in the industry and threats to further losses in production." Workers at Peru's No. 3 copper mine Cerro Verde said they will launch a 48-hour strike on September 7. Peru is the world's No.2 producer of copper. Meanwhile, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's Indonesia mine workers have threatened to strike on September 15. The strike would be the second since July at Grasberg, the world's third-biggest copper mine. Copper fell 5.6 percent in August, dragging prices down more than 6 percent in the year-to-date. Analysts at Citi said they downgraded their price forecast for base metals due to the broker's lower forecasts for economic growth and recent market turmoil. For copper, they expect strong Chinese demand to help limit further falls in prices. "Chinese imports will remain strong, as Chinese consumers take advantage of price dips to re-stock. China is unlikely to tighten monetary policy further. Strong Chinese demand should underpin copper at the $7,500 mark (and) the market is likely to be capped at the $9,500 mark," Citi analysts said in a note. EURO DEBT CHALLENGES The euro zone's growing sovereign debt crisis has also contributed to worries about global growth prospects. Investors are likely to closely monitor the situation in Europe where a series of political and legal tests this week begins with the German Federal Constitutional court ruling on Wednesday on suits claiming Berlin is breaking German law and European treaties by contributing to multi-billion euro bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal . Among other metals, nickel fell to $21,140 from $21,500. Cancelled warrants for nickel, the amount of metal earmarked for delivery, climbed to a four-year high at 8.58 percent. Aluminium slipped to $2,406 a tonne, from Friday's close of $2,436. Citi analysts said they expect little downside to aluminium prices, as prices are now below the high-cost marginal producer. Data from the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed aluminium stocks in warehouses monitored by the LME fell by 4,225 tonnes, with large stocks leaving U.S. warehouses in Detroit. About 70 percent of those aluminium stocks are tied up in financing deals, and analysts say these deals are unlikely to be unwound soon given the limited money-making opportunities available to banks facing historically low interest rates. A typical deal consists of banks buying nearby aluminium from a producer, selling it forward at a profit and striking a warehouse deal to store it cheaply for an extended time period. Tin slipped to $24,025 a tonne, from Friday's close at $24,250. Zinc fell to $2,177 from $2,195, while lead slipped to $2,441 from $2,460. Metal Prices at 0930 GMT Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2010 Ytd Pct move COMEX Cu 406.50 -4.85 -1.18 444.70 -8.59 LME Alum 2377.00 -59.00 -2.42 2470.00 -3.77 LME Cu 9025.00 -51.00 -0.56 9600.00 -5.99 LME Lead 2477.00 17.00 +0.69 2550.00 -2.86 LME Nickel 21450.00 -50.00 -0.23 24750.00 -13.33 LME Tin 24200.00 -50.00 -0.21 26900.00 -10.04 LME Zinc 2247.00 52.00 +2.37 2454.00 -8.44 SHFE Alu 17345.00 -90.00 -0.52 16840.00 3.00 SHFE Cu* 67100.00 -730.00 -1.08 71850.00 -6.61 SHFE Zin 16945.00 -120.00 -0.70 19475.00 -12.99 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07

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