* ECB measure could disappoint- analysts
* LME aluminium, lead hit multi-month highs
* Coming up: ECB rate decision; 1145 GMT
By Silvia Antonioli
LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Copper was steady on Thursday around a 1-1/2
month high hit the prior session as investors awaited a European Central Bank
meeting to see whether it will unveil a new bond buying plan that might be
effective in combating the euro zone debt crisis.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was at $7,721 per
tonne by 0903 GMT, down 0.2 percent from a close of $7,740 on Wednesday.
Leaks suggesting that the ECB will launch more decisive moves boosted the
euro against the dollar and spurred appetite for riskier assets on Wednesday,
sending copper to $7,750, its highest since late July.
Sentiment was mixed on Thursday, however, as investors tried to forecast how
decisive the ECB moves will be.
"It's very easy to spin the ECB factor either way," said Credit Suisse
analyst Ivan Szpakowski.
"Some think if they are going to announce something, copper should go up,
but you can also make a big case that the expectations right now are pretty high
that they will announce something much more concrete than what they have
indicated already, and there is a real risk that they won't give as much detail
and won't be as aggressive as expected, so many are going short."
ECB chief Mario Draghi faces the most decisive moment of his presidency on
Thursday when he tries to heal divisions among policymakers and deliver on his
promise to save the euro.
Central Bank sources said the ECB is ready to waive seniority status on
government bonds it buys under a new programme.
Convincing measures to help solve the critical debt situation in the euro
zone should spur the region's economic growth and boost demand for industrial
metals.
POOR DEMAND, POOR SUPPLY
Copper demand from top buyer China, which consumes about 40 percent of the
metal, has been weak in the last few months as the Far Eastern country's economy
has deteriorated faster than expected.
Though LME copper stocks dropped for seven consecutive sessions to hit their
lowest level since October 2008, traders said demand for the industrial metal on
the physical market remained sluggish.
"There is very little demand," said a Shanghai-based trader. "The premium on
imported copper is only about $50, reflecting low buying interest." �
Nonetheless, copper has been outperforming other metals and other
commodities such as iron ore, which has lost more than a third of its value in
the past two months.
Some support to copper has come from weak production data. The world's top
copper producer, Chile's Codelco, for example, produced 767,000 tonnes of copper
in the first half of the year, down 6.4 percent year-on-year.
"Once again the mine supply is not growing as much as expected, and that's
part of the explanation for why copper has outperformed the other metals in the
last few months and this year as a whole," Szpakowski said.
"The question now is whether that continues in the last four months or
whether you finally get some of these ramp-ups and expansion. If that does
happen, you leave copper prices very vulnerable."
In other metals aluminium was at $1,979.50 from $1,972. The metal
used in packaging and transport, hit a session high of $1,987.50, its highest
since early July.
"Aluminium had been oversold in the last quarter in comparison with other
metals, but prices have heavily hit into production costs. About 50-60 percent
of global capacity is making losses, so there is more pressure on primary
producers to cut output," said Kamil Wlazly, a senior metals analyst at Metal
Bulletin Research.
"We don't expect prices to move much in the fourth quarter unless more
capacity cuts materialize. What has been announced so far is just a drop in the
ocean, and China is still ramping up production. On the other side, though,
aluminium is supported by higher production costs."
Zinc, used to galvanize steel was at $1,905 from $1,891, while
battery material lead was at $2,045.75 from a last bid of $2,028 on
Wednesday and tin was at $19,615 from $19,700.
Nickel was at $16,260 from $16,100.
Metal Prices at 0917 GMT
Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in
yuan/T
Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2011 Ytd Pct
move
COMEX Cu 352.50 -0.70 -0.20 344.75 2.25
LME Alum 1979.00 7.00 +0.35 2020.00 -2.03
LME Cu 7725.50 -14.50 -0.19 7600.00 1.65
LME Lead 2046.00 51.00 +2.56 2034.00 0.59
LME Nickel 16280.00 180.00 +1.12 18650.00 -12.71
LME Tin 19600.00 -100.00 -0.51 19200.00 2.08
LME Zinc 1905.25 14.25 +0.75 1845.00 3.27
SHFE Alu 15620.00 120.00 +0.77 15845.00 -1.42
SHFE Cu* 56310.00 530.00 +0.95 55360.00 1.72
SHFE Zin 14945.00 160.00 +1.08 14795.00 1.01
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
