RTRS:METALS-Shanghai copper slips; investors eye US data
* Euro zone debt crisis weighs on sentiment
* Freeport Indonesia union says halts return to work
* Coming Up: U.S. Dec consumer confidence; 1500 GMT
(Updates prices, Freeport)
By Jane Lee
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper edged
down on Tuesday, after dropping more than 1 percent in the
previous session in its biggest one-day decline in a week, while
investors kept an eye on U.S. data for clues on the health of
the world's largest economy.
The unresolved euro zone debt crisis also continued to drag
on sentiment.
"We've been very concerned about the global economy for the
past six to seven months," said Tan Teng Boo, who helps manage
about $350 million at Capital Dynamics Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur.
"These concerns have not disappeared."
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange slipped 0.3 percent to 55,050 yuan
($8,700) a tonne by 0733 GMT. Prices have tumbled 23 percent so
far this year, after gaining in the last two years.
The London Metal Exchange was closed on Tuesday in lieu of
Christmas day.
News that the union at Freeport's Grasberg mine in
Indonesia, the world's second-biggest copper mine, had halted a
return to work after a three-month strike pending the resolution
of a local labour dispute, however, kept a floor under
prices.
At a time when the euro zone is still in the throes of a
festering financial crisis, data out of the United States held
out some hope for investors.
New orders for U.S. durable goods soared in November and new
home sales hit a seven-month high, although consumer spending
was tepid and a gauge of business investment fell for a second
straight month, data on Friday showed.
Investors will be looking for more positive signs from U.S.
data this week, including the S&P Case-Shiller house price index
for October and U.S. consumer confidence for December.
Japan's exports of copper cathode to China doubled in
November from a year earlier, pushing it total exports of
refined copper during the month by up 34 percent, data from the
Ministry of Finance showed.
Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai
Futures Exchange rose 3.4 percent on Dec. 23 from a week
earlier, the exchange said on Friday.
Profits at China's industrial companies rose 24.4 percent in
the first 11 months of 2011 from a year ago to 4.66 trillion
yuan ($735.43 billion), slowing from 25.3 percent in the first
10 months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on
Tuesday.
In other markets, Asian shares eased as investors squared
positions in thin volume before U.S. markets reopen after a long
weekend and investors see fresh data that could offer clues
about prospects for the world's largest economy.
Base metals prices at 0733 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
SHFE CU FUT MAR2 55050 -150 -0.27 -23.38
SHFE AL FUT MAR2 15870 70 +0.44 -5.76
SHFE ZN FUT APR2 14740 65 +0.44 -24.31
SHFE PB FUT 15180.00 80.00 +0.53 -17.28
