* Copper holds near bottom of recent range, below 200 DMA * China No.2 copper producer sees demand up 6 pct in 2012 * Coming up: U.S. ADP Employment for Feb at 1315 GMT By Harpreet Bhal LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Copper slipped on Wednesday adding to the previous day's sharp falls to trade near a three-week low as the euro pared gains, with the metal remaining near the bottom of its recent trading range on uncertainty about demand from top consumer China. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $8,260 a tonne in official rings, down 0.4 percent from Tuesday's close of $8,289.50, when it fell 2.5 percent in its biggest single-day drop in a month. Having benefited last week from a liquidity injection from the European Central Bank, the broad sell-off in industrial metals this week shows investors were now more worried about the poor prospects for raw material demand as Europe faces a recession and top copper user China lowers its growth target. "It almost feels like the euphoria, following the U.S. growth and European LTRO story, is fading a bit," said Nic Brown, head of commodity research at Natixis. "The reality of slower growth in the BRIC countries and the continuing threats from the situation in Europe with Greece and other fiscal problems are starting to weigh on the market." The euro pared gains against the dollar, as uncertainty about whether Greece would garner sufficient support for its debt restructuring plans weighed on sentiment. A clutch of Greek pension funds and some foreign investors are holding back on a bond swap deal, which would enable Greece to meet a debt repayment on March 20, sparking concerns about a chaotic default if participation is low. Analysts said there may be more downward pressure ahead for copper given slack Chinese demand and abundant supply. "The problem is that many copper consumers are short of new orders so I don't expect the Chinese to buy aggressively even if the price falls below $8,000," said Grace Qu, analyst at CRU in Beijing. China's trade ministry on Wednesday said imports of energy and raw materials will increase this year, without giving any details. The metal used in power and construction earlier hit its lowest level in nearly three-weeks at $8,195.75, and remained below its 200-day moving average at $8,376.73 "Virtually all metals have... broken through important technical support levels, meaning that the prices could come under additional pressure from this side," Commerzbank analysts said in a note. CHINA GROWTH Copper began the week lower after China cut its 2012 growth target to an eight-year low of 7.5 percent on Monday, raising concern about its raw material appetite, although some analysts say the fears could be unfounded. China's economic growth had exceeded the government's targets by 2-3 percentage points over the last decade, said the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The lower growth target for 2012 might still be consistent with an actual outcome in the low to mid 8 percent range. This is still solid GDP growth, and given the law of large numbers, is consistent with still solid commodity demand prospects," the bank said. Tongling Nonferrous Metals, China's No. 2 copper producer, said it expects domestic copper demand to grow by at least 6 percent this year, supported by the power sector. Top Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper was looking at a 7 percent increase in demand. In industry news, Indonesia will force foreign firms to sell down stakes in mines by the 10th year of production, with domestic ownership to be at least 51 percent, in a move likely to hurt existing miners and scare off potential investors. In official rings, aluminium traded at $2,220 from Tuesday's close of $2,235.50, while lead traded at $2,074 from $2,068. Nickel was at $18,895 from Tuesday's close of $18,745. Zinc was untraded in rings, but bid at $2,003 from Tuesday's close of $2,012. Tin was also untraded. It was bid at $22,445 from $22,310. Metal Prices at 1311 GMT Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2010 Ytd Pct move COMEX Cu 373.85 0.30 +0.08 444.70 -15.93 LME Alum 2215.00 -20.50 -0.92 2470.00 -10.32 LME Cu 8225.25 -64.25 -0.78 9600.00 -14.32 LME Lead 2064.25 -3.75 -0.18 2550.00 -19.05 LME Nickel 18865.00 120.00 +0.64 24750.00 -23.78 LME Tin 22360.00 50.00 +0.22 26900.00 -16.88 LME Zinc 2004.50 -7.50 -0.37 2454.00 -18.32 SHFE Alu 16165.00 -10.00 -0.06 16840.00 -4.01 SHFE Cu* 59390.00 -890.00 -1.48 71850.00 -17.34 SHFE Zin 15515.00 -245.00 -1.55 19475.00 -20.33 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07

Source