Copper prices eased a touch in Europe on Friday amid concern over the outlook for Chinese consumption, after the country moved to cool its burgeoning property market. China raised mortgage rates and down payment requirements on Thursday to cool growth in the property sector, a major user of copper pipes and wiring. The country is the world's biggest copper consumer. "The recent move in the property market, and the mortgage market, has been taking the wind out of copper's sails a little bit," said Peter Fertig, a consultant at Quantitative Commodity Research. "We are unable to really significantly surpass the $8 000 (R58 800) a tonne level. The market tested it several times, but failed to move ahead, in the last two weeks." PRICES * Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was trading at $7 931 a tonne at 09:12 SA time compared with $7 945 at the close on Thursday. * Aluminium was at $2 469 a tonne from $2 483. DATA/EVENTS * Euro zone February trade data, due 11:00 SA time. * Euro zone March final inflation numbers, due 11:00 SA time. * US March housing starts/building permits, 14:30 SA time. * US Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release preliminary April consumer sentiment index, 14:55 SA time. * US Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) releases weekly index of economic activity for April 9, 16:30 SA time. MARKET NEWS * The dollar firmed versus the euro on Friday as the single currency was hit by scepticism over Greece servicing its debt, while the yen surged as caution about a possible Chinese revaluation led yen sellers to close short positions. * Oil fell below $85 as concern about US demand re-emerged and the dollar strengthened, making imports more expensive for emerging economies where consumption is surging. * Asian stocks retreated from 22-month highs on Friday as fresh doubts about the US economic recovery and Greece's rescue package prompted a broad pull-back from risky assets. European stocks fell at the open. FUNDAMENTALS * Europe's No.2 copper producer KGHM plans to invest 13.7 billion zlotys ($4.8 billion) and pay 4.9 billion in dividends through 2014, a newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying. * Peru's government told angry farmers on Thursday that Southern Copper would not take their water, but blamed the miner for failing to win community support to avert a protest against its Tia Maria mine project. * South Korea has issued a tender to buy 3 000 tonnes of western-origin primary aluminium ingot for shipping by the end of June, the state-run Public Procurement Service said on its web site (www.g2b.go.kr) late Thursday. TECHNICALS * Copper support at $7 820, resistance at $8 045, 14-day RSI at 61.5. * Aluminium support at $2 440, resistance at $2 500, 14-day RSI at 78.4. * LME copper is still under consolidation and may break resistance at $8 010 per tonne to head towards $8 215, said Reuters analyst Wang Tao. - Reuters

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