RTRS:METALS-Copper steady after China inflation data; uncertainty persists
* China August CPI eases from three-year high in July
* Copper likely to be rangebound as economic outlook cloudy
* Coming Up: G7 finance chiefs meet in France
(Adds comments, details; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Copper prices held steady on
Friday after China's inflation cooled a notch as expected, while
an uncertain global economic outlook is likely to keep prices
rangebound.
China's annual inflation cooled slightly to 6.2 percent in
August from three-year highs in the previous month, matching
expectations and lending support for a pause in Beijing's
10-month-long policy tightening campaign.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was
flat at $9,117.25 a tonne by 0245 GMT, headed for a rise of half
a percent from a week earlier.
Shanghai's most-active copper futures contract SCFcv1
gained 0.4 percent to 67,960 yuan ($10,645)a tonne, on course
for a weekly gain of 0.2 percent, its third straight week of
increase.
"The sentiment in the market is still fickle," said a
Shanghai-based trader. "Even though the inflation rate has
eased, people are not sure if it means inflation has peaked and
policy will be loosened."
Beijing has repeatedly vowed to put taming inflation on top
of its priority list, as China's central bank has raised
interest rates five times and lifted banks' reserve requirements
ratios nine times since October.
The market will be watching the U.S. Federal Reserve's
meeting later in the month, when the central bank may announce
more stimulus for the faltering economy.
But in a speech on Thursday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
failed to give any detail on steps to help pull the world's
biggest economy back from the brink of another
recession.
Base metals may continue their sideways movement as long as
global economic growth stays murky, traders and analysts said.
"LME copper will probably be trading in the range between
$8,950 and $9,300 unless there is extremely upbeat or
devastating news from the macro front," said Fang Junfeng, an
analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures.
U.S. President Barack Obama proposed a $447-billion package
of tax cuts and new spending to revive a stalled job market, but
the package will face tough fight from
Republicans.
"Prices have barely moved after the speech, as investors are
slowly digesting its implications," said a Singapore-based
trader.
A strike at Peru's third-largest copper mine, Cerro Verde,
as well as a strike scheduled from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 at
Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's Grasberg mine in
Indonesia, the world's third-largest, threaten to squeeze supply
and underpin market sentiment.
LME nickel lost 1.4 percent to $21,738 a tonne,
snapping two days of gains. With a loss of 12 percent so far
this year, it is the worst performer in the base metals complex.
Base metals prices at 0245 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 9117.25 2.25 +0.02 -5.03
SHFE CU FUT NOV1 67960 240 +0.35 -5.41
LME Alum 2419.75 -0.25 -0.01 -2.03
SHFE AL FUT NOV1 17475 40 +0.23 3.77
HG COPPER DEC1 413.90 -4.90 -0.11 -6.77
LME Zinc 2235.00 -16.00 -0.71 -8.92
SHFE ZN FUT NOV1 17160 90 +0.53 -11.89
LME Nickel 21738.00 -312.00 -1.41 -12.17
LME Lead 2475.00 -15.00 -0.60 -2.94
SHFE PB FUT 16450 0 +0.00 -10.35
LME Tin 24475.00 0.00 +0.00 -9.01
LME/Shanghai arb 170
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
