* U.S. Fed to keep interest rates near zero at least until 2013 * China's July copper imports grow 9.5 pct on month * Coming Up: U.S. Federal budget, July; 1800 GMT (Updates prices, adds quotes and details) By Carrie Ho SHANGHAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve made an unprecedented pledge to keep interest rates near zero for at least two years, stemming a global equity rout, while strong July trade figures from China were a positive factor. Speculation over the prospect of further quantitative monetary easing by the United States was revived by a Chinese official's statement that the United States was likely to launch a new round. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.4 percent to $8,940 a tonne by 0703 GMT, after losing 0.6 percent in the last session. The most-active October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 1.7 percent to 67,090 yuan per tonne by the midday close, after losing 2.5 percent in the last session. The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday promised to keep interest rates near zero for at least two more years and said it would consider further steps to help growth, sparking a rebound in stocks. Asian stocks clawed back some lost ground on Wednesday, following a rebound in U.S. shares, while Brent crude rose $3 extending the previous session's gains. "The announcement that the Fed's interest rate policy will remain for some time certainly supported the market and in some ways acts as a form of a brake on the decline that was seen in the last 48 hours," said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services. "Also, import data from China, such as on copper, has been very positive. That shows that China's efforts to slow the economy aren't working as well as expected. And the economy seems to be kicking along in full gear." China's trade was surprisingly buoyant in July, with annual growth in exports and imports accelerating from a month ago, in another sign that the world's No. 2 economy is still growing solidly. China's imports of copper rose 9.5 pct from June to 306,626 tonnes in July, data from the General Administration of Customs on Wednesday showed. China's top economic planner said on Wednesday the U.S. was likely to launch QE III and warned that looser monetary policy would fuel global price pressures. Analysts are divided on whether China is likely to further tighten its monetary policy. "...The markets' focal point now is on Beijing's next policy move in view of the U.S. latest announcements and expectations of a QE III," said Jinrui Futures analyst Zhao Kai. "China may be forced to use measures that it was reluctant to use before to keep prices down, including hiking the interest rate," he added. "The key is whether this will prompt the PBOC to increase interest rates. But given the concerns in Europe and U.S., we don't see China's interest rates moving for some time," said Barratt. "This is a window of opportunity where copper will benefit and we'll see prices start to recover." Base metals prices at 0703 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 8940.00 210.00 +2.41 -6.88 SHFE CU FUT OCT1 67090 1130 +1.71 -6.62 LME Alum 2433.00 26.00 +1.08 -1.50 SHFE AL FUT OCT1 17590 325 +1.88 4.45 HG COPPER SEP1 404.50 6.40 +1.89 -8.89 LME Zinc 2176.00 76.00 +3.62 -11.33 SHFE ZN FUT OCT1 16710 310 +1.89 -14.20 LME Nickel 21882.00 677.00 +3.19 -11.59 LME Lead 2324.00 70.00 +3.11 -8.86 SHFE PB FUT 16405 510 +3.21 -10.60 LME Tin 23700.00 925.00 +4.06 -11.90 LME/Shanghai arb 35 Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months ^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month Shanghai lead launched on March 24 (Reporting by Carrie Ho; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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