RTRS:METALS-Copper up, lifted by Shanghai equities, weaker dlr
* Shanghai equities close up 0.5 pct; most in nearly 2 wks
* Dollar index down 0.4 pct by 0739 GMT
* China aluminium July avg daily output down 3.9 pct on mth
* China's aluminium consumer demand still sluggish - trade
* Coming Up: U.S. ICSC chain stores weekly data; 1145 GMT
By Carrie Ho
SHANGHAI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Tuesday on a
surge in Shanghai equities and a weaker dollar, although prices
look set to stay in a tight range as investors wait for more
trading cues.
Any gains are likely to be limited by nagging worries over
the global economy, as the euro zone debt crisis continues to
ferment, growth slows in top metal consumer China, and recovery
stutters in the United States, the world's largest economy.
"Base metals got a boost in the afternoon after Shanghai
equities jumped and the dollar deepened its losses. Traders took
direction from these assets since prices fell yesterday and
there hasn't been any fresh bad news today," said CIFCO Futures
analyst Zhou Jie.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose
0.8 percent to $7,517.50 per tonne by 0739 GMT, after dropping
1.1 percent in the previous session.
The most active December copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange lifted 0.4 percent to close at 54,870
yuan ($8,600) per tonne, after ending Monday's session down 0.1
percent.
Shanghai's prompt September copper is trading at a
premium to forward months, with traders reporting some tightness
in the spot markets.
"Some people are buying up copper in anticipation of Chinese
smelters exporting to take advantage of the new export tax
incentives. But copper's outlook looks bearish as downstream
industries are still not doing well," said Andy Du, derivatives
director at Orient Futures.
Leaders of Germany, France, the Euro zone and Greece are
meeting bilaterally this week, with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras holding a
dialogue on Friday over Greece's rescue plans.
"The euro zone crisis is not going away and we've known that
for quite a while. I doubt these meetings will produce any
resolutions that will decisively lift base metals' bearish
outlook," said an analyst with an international trading house.
WEAK CHINA PHYSICAL ALUMINIUM MARKET
Although the latest aluminium production figures point to
falling daily output in China, physical traders said the market
still felt sluggish.
"There have been some aluminium imports for financing deals
recently after the spreads narrowed, lowering losses for
importers," said a Shanghai-based trader.
"But the imports don't indicate improving consumer aluminium
demand, which is still weak. Imported spot premia are about
$230-$280, while in domestic trades, you get zero premium."
In industry news, major minerals exporter Peru said on
Monday its copper, zinc and lead output rose more than 9 percent
in June from a year earlier.
Base metals prices at 0739 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 7517.50 61.00 +0.82 -1.09
SHFE CU FUT DEC2 54870 240 +0.44 -1.37
LME Alum 1847.50 10.50 +0.57 -8.54
SHFE AL FUT DEC2 15230 30 +0.20 -3.85
HG COPPER SEP2 340.75 3.65 +1.08 -0.83
LME Zinc 1808.25 12.25 +0.68 -1.99
SHFE ZN FUT DEC2 14525 110 +0.76 -1.82
LME Nickel 15581.00 31.00 +0.20 -16.72
LME Lead 1912.75 3.75 +0.20 -6.01
SHFE PB FUT 14955 120 +0.81 -2.19
LME Tin 18700.00 195.00 +1.05 -2.60
LME/Shanghai arb 1042
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE
third month
