* Four sessions of losses drag LME copper down 1.8 pctr
* China's July copper output falls 6.8 pct from previous
month
* China's aluminium foil exports to rise; ingot demand still
weak
* Coming up: France current account for June; 0645 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes, details)
By Carrie Ho
SHANGHAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Copper fell for a fourth
consecutive session on Monday amid nagging worries about the
global economic outlook, but losses were limited by hopes that
the spate of disappointing economic data around the world last
week would spur governments to roll out more stimulus measures.
Thin LME copper trading volumes show that many investors are
playing it safe by closing down positions and are likely to stay
on the sidelines, looking for fresh trading cues from another
raft of economic data due this week, including U.S. retail sales
and consumer prices and the euro zone's gross domestic product.
Further pressuring prices was a weak Chinese physical copper
market, which in July saw a 6.8 percent fall in output in from a
month earlier to 483,000 tonnes, official data showed on Monday,
as large stockpiles and weak demand prompted smelters to lower
production.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had
fallen 0.6 percent to $7,444.50 per tonne by 0720 GMT in thin
trading, extending Friday's loss of 0.6 percent.
The most active November copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange dropped 0.3 percent to 54,440 yuan
($8,600) per tonne, dragged down in afternoon trading by weak
Shanghai equities that suffered their worst daily loss
in nearly a month.
"Copper prices were already under pressure from a recent
spate of weak China data, which have not resulted in further
government stimulus as many expected," said Orient Futures
derivatives director Andy Du. "On top of bearish sentiment,
Shanghai November copper prices are also weighed down by
investors closing their positions and moving these to December."
A Shanghai-based trader with an international firm noted a
lack of support from Chinese copper bargain hunters, who usually
do some limited restocking when prices dip.
"... probably because many have already done their shopping
during earlier dips," he said.
However, the prospect of more stimulus action by the Chinese
government in the wake of recent sluggish data is one cause for
optimism in an otherwise gloomy market.
"Market opinions of the outlook for base metals are
divergent with some believing the LME copper price is headed
towards $6,500, while others are hopeful Beijing or Washington
will announce new stimulus measures soon and thus spur a rebound
from current price levels," the trader said.
Data released by China on Aug. 10 helped raise hopes for
more stimulus after it showed exports in July rose just 1
percent from a year earlier and new loans were at a 10-month
low, suggesting that pro-growth policies have been insufficient
and more urgent action may be needed to stabilise the economy.
Adding to the gloomy global growth picture, Japan's economic
expansion slowed more than expected in the second quarter as a
rebound in consumer spending started to lose momentum and
Europe's debt crisis weighed on global demand.
In the euro zone, squabbling between bloc members over
whether the European Central Bank should buy Spanish and Italian
sovereign bonds as a means to ease the debt crisis also kept
markets on edge, with Finland's prime minister saying he was
critically opposed to such a move.
ALUMINIUM EXPORTS TO RISE
China's exports some of finished aluminium products are
expected to rise in August, slightly boosting aluminium ingot
demand.
But this should not be taken as sign that global aluminium
demand has picked up as these exporters are selling at thin and
sometimes even negative profit margins due to the unfavourable
price arbitrage, consultancy Shanghai Metals Market said in a
recent note.
Chinese aluminium foil producers are selling into the Middle
East and North America markets to avoid a complete shutdown of
their plants.
"This will cause production of aluminium foil to spike in
August," SMM added.
Base metals prices at 0720 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 7444.50 -45.50 -0.61 -2.05
SHFE CU FUT NOV2 54440 -180 -0.33 -2.14
LME Alum 1873.00 -8.00 -0.43 -7.28
SHFE AL FUT NOV2 15370 -30 -0.19 -2.97
HG COPPER SEP2 337.40 -1.85 -0.55 -1.80
LME Zinc 1829.75 -5.25 -0.29 -0.83
SHFE ZN FUT NOV2 14590 -50 -0.34 -1.39
LME Nickel 15281.00 -119.00 -0.77 -18.33
LME Lead 1883.75 -8.25 -0.44 -7.43
SHFE PB FUT 14950 -55 -0.37 -2.22
LME Tin 17879.00 4.00 +0.02 -6.88
LME/Shanghai arb 953
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE
third month
