* Spain sells 4.61 bln euros govt bonds, pays least since Feb * China Q3 GDP up 7.4 pct on yr, in line with Reuters poll * Coming up: U.S. leading indicators Sept at 1400 GMT (Updates prices, adds comment, detail; previous SHANGHAI) By Harpreet Bhal LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Copper rose to a one-week high on Thursday, helped by a stronger euro following good demand at a Spanish bond auction and data showing that the economy of top consumer China is stabilising. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2 percent to $8,237.25 a tonne at 0950 GMT from Wednesday's close of $8,220. It hit a one-week high of $8,260 earlier in the session. The euro hit a session high against the dollar, erasing earlier falls, after Spain sold 4.61 billion euros of government bonds, paying the least since February t o borrow over 10 years and selling more of the paper than expected. A weak dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. unit cheaper for holders of other currencies. Volumes, however, remained thin as LME Week - an annual gathering in London of the industrial metals industry - draws to a close. Copper prices have been stuck in a range between $8,100 and $8,400 in the past few weeks as uncertainty about the outlook for demand for industrial metals keeps investors cautious. "The most likely outcome to make a major move (to push prices out of its range) is on the euro side," said Ross Strachan, economist at Capital Economics. "We have had quite a bit of improved optimism lately surrounding the euro zone. But we don't think that is realistically going to be sustained. When that starts to unravel, we could well see metals prices move lower." Also supporting sentiment was in-line data from China which boosted optimism over the health of the global economy following recent positive housing data from the United States. China likely hit the bottom of a seven-quarter economic downturn between July and September, but the slowest three months of growth since the depths of the financial crisis and a cloudy housing market outlook make recovery prospects tepid. The country should hit or beat the government's growth target this year and a mild economic recovery is likely in the fourth quarter, the country's statistics bureau said. Groundbreaking on new U.S. homes surged in September to its fastest pace in more than four years, a sign the housing sector's recovery is gaining traction and supporting the wider economy. Premier Wen Jiabao was quoted by Chinese media as saying on Wednesday that the economic situation in the third quarter was relatively good, and the government was confident of achieving its goal. DEMAND EYED Beyond the short term, traders said there was still no significant pick-up in Chinese copper demand, as seen in the ShFE front-to-forward-month curve switching to a slight contango on Thursday. <0#SCF:> "Investors are pricing forward contracts higher as they feel copper's outlook for the rest of the year has improved, based on recent global economic data," said a trader based in Shanghai. "But we have not seen a meaningful pick-up in spot demand yet." In other metals, benchmark tin rose to $21,800 from Wednesday's close of $21,570, zinc climbed to $1,931 from $1,921 and aluminium was at $2,005 from Wednesday's close of $1,989. Battery metal lead rose to $2,173.50 from $2,155 and nickel was at $17,300 from Wednesday's close of $17,180. Metal Prices at 0950 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 375.55 0.65 +0.17 344.75 8.93 LME Alum 2007.25 18.25 +0.92 2020.00 -0.63 LME Cu 8236.25 16.25 +0.20 7600.00 8.37 LME Lead 2175.25 20.25 +0.94 2034.00 6.94 LME Nickel 17311.00 131.00 +0.76 18650.00 -7.18 LME Tin 21770.00 200.00 +0.93 19200.00 13.39 LME Zinc 1931.00 10.00 +0.52 1845.00 4.66 SHFE Alu 15550.00 60.00 +0.39 15845.00 -1.86 SHFE Cu* 59130.00 470.00 +0.80 55360.00 6.81 SHFE Zin 15210.00 90.00 +0.60 14795.00 2.81 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07

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