* LME, ShFE copper ease from one-month highs * LME copper on track for third straight weekly rise * China's soft manufacturing data points to stimulus * But imminent bank reserve ratio cut ruled out - analysts * Coming up: U.S. Durable Goods; 1230 GMT By Carrie Ho SHANGHAI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Copper dropped on Friday, coming off one-month highs hit in the previous session as hopes for more U.S. stimulus measures faded and on worrying signs that Spain, the fourth-largest economy in the euro zone, could need sovereign aid. Mixed messages from Fed officials on Thursday, with one playing down the odds of imminent bond buying saying the U.S. economic outlook had brightened and another seeing a lot of reason for more easing, led investors to scale back their expectations of strong stimulus from the Federal Reserve. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.8 percent to $7,623 per tonne by 0702 GMT, but prices were on track for about a 1 percent gain this week -- a third straight weekly rise. The most active December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.64 percent to close at 55,620 yuan ($8,800) per tonne. Copper prices hit their highest since July 20 in the previous session led by strong stimulus hopes after manufacturing surveys from the euro zone and China, the world's top copper consumer, depicted a bleak outlook. "Base metal prices rose on stimulus hopes yesterday, powering copper above $7,600, but the upward momentum proved to be short-term when those hopes were not followed up with real policies," said an analyst with an international trading firm. "With stimulus hopes still priced in at these levels, there is more downside room in copper as these hopes fade." Mixed U.S. economic data, which showed manufacturing activity improving slightly in August but weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rising last week, means investors would likely exit their positions and wait for better data before pushing up prices. "There has been a drop in net open interest in London copper, which means yesterday's rally was up on short-covering. It'll take a lot of conviction to get fresh longs to come in at this point, so we will be facing pressure from the shorts today," the analyst said. Most recent LME data showed a net reduction of 810 lots in daily open interest on Wednesday, while an increase in net daily open interest in Shanghai copper against falling prices on Friday also indicates the entry of fresh shorts. In China, the world's largest buyer of copper and other industrial metals, signs of the much anticipation stimulus action were just as elusive. Although manufacturing sector from the world's second-largest economy contracted at its sharpest pace in nine months in August, market watchers are ruling out a previously expected cut in banks' required reserve ratio after the Chinese central bank injected a seven-month high amount of funds into the financial system. Also dampening sentiment was news that Spain was in talks with euro zone partners over sovereign aid, although it has not made a final request for a bailout, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Base metals prices at 0702 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 7623.00 -61.50 -0.80 0.30 SHFE CU FUT DEC2 55620 -360 -0.64 0.47 HG COPPER SEP2 346.30 -2.95 -0.84 0.79 LME Alum 1888.25 -16.25 -0.85 -6.52 SHFE AL FUT DEC2 15340 -05 -0.03 -3.19 LME Zinc 1841.25 -20.75 -1.11 -0.20 SHFE ZN FUT DEC2 14660 -20 -0.14 -0.91 LME Nickel 16337.00 -138.00 -0.84 -12.68 LME Lead 1946.00 -6.00 -0.31 -4.37 SHFE PB FUT 15090.00 -25.00 -0.17 -1.28 LME Tin 19850.00 -100.00 -0.50 3.39 LME/Shanghai arb^ 924 Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months

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