SINGAPORE: London copper lost ground on Tuesday on worries over softening growth in China, with investors looking for fresh trading cues as Britain and the United States return from a holiday weekend. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was at $7,235 a tonne by 0225 GMT, down 0.88 percent from Friday's close. LME copper was mostly steady last week, but is set to close the month with gains of 2 percent -- its first monthly advance since January. The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.74 percent to 52,050 yuan ($8,500) a tonne. "I'm relatively bearish and trading that theme to clients," said Tim Radford at Sydney-based adviser Rivkin. "Given the stream of weak macro data, especially out of the Asian region, and weakness across the Chinese economy, we expect that will onflow to copper markets." China's factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May, reigniting worries over stuttering growth in the world's top metals consumer. An official report is due on June 1. Sentiment has also been hurt by signs China, which accounts for around 40 percent of refined copper demand, is willing to tolerate slower growth. Radford added that a resumption of mining operations at the giant Grasberg mine in Indonesia could erode support for copper prices, which he sees trending down to around $3.10 a pound ($6,835 a tonne). Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Indonesian unit should be able to restart open-pit mining operations at its remote Papua copper mine soon, a junior mining minister said, after a tunnel collapse that killed 28 people. Mining operations have been suspended since May 15.

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