METALS-Copper falls after weak economic data from the US

* Prospects Greece will reach debt deal support copper
* Weak U.S. data makes monetary easing more likely
* China manufacturing data eyed

By Harpreet Bhal and Silvia Antonioli
LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Copper slipped on Tuesday as the euro fell
against the dollar after weaker-than-expected economic data from the United
States raised concerns about the state of the global economy and the demand
outlook for industrial metals.
The figures showed that business activity in the U.S. Midwest grew more
slowly than expected and U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January,
raising doubts about an economic recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

Copper was still on track for a 10 percent increase in January, its biggest
gain in three months, lifted by hopes Greece would reach an agreement with its
creditors to avoid a messy default.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed
at $8,320 a tonne, down 1.3 percent from a close of $8,429 on Monday.
"The Chicago PMI and the consumer confidence data weighed on copper and on
the whole commodity sector; nevertheless this makes a third round of
quantitative easing more likely in the U.S.," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel
Briesemann.
"I think this weakness should be temporary as the possible monetary easing
will support industrial metals."
The Federal Reserve has moved closer to embarking on a new round of its
controversial money-pumping after the central bank and its chairman, Ben
Bernanke, last week highlighted a grim outlook for the U.S. economy.

Capping gains, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said negotiators had
made "significant progress" on talks for a debt swap deal between the government
and private bond holders, with the aim of having a definitive agreement by the
end of this week.
An agreement between European leaders over strict new measures on sovereign
budget discipline also eased some worries over a deterioration of the euro zone
debt crisis.
Investors are now waiting for PMI data from China to be released early on
Wednesday, which will give more clues on the state of the world's second-largest
economy and biggest consumer of industrial metals.

DECLINING COPPER STOCKS
Large stock withdrawals in LME-monitored warehouses helped support copper,
with the latest data showing inventories monitored by the LME
dropped by 2,300 tonnes to 330,825 tonnes, its lowest since September 2009.
"It is partly reflective of domestic U.S. consumption. Some of the economic
data and the corporate results (from the U.S.) all point to a market where
consumption is actually beginning to grow again," Barclays analyst Gayle Berry
said.
On the technical front, copper held above its 200-day moving average, a
level which it broke late last week, in a bullish price signal for the metal.
In northern Chile, workers of a union at Teck Resources Ltd's
mid-sized Quebrada Blanca copper mine are poised to strike after labor contract
talks with the mining company broke down, a union leader said on Monday.

Chile's copper output jumped in December from a year earlier but registered
a drop of 3.2 percent in 2011 from the prior year as falling ore grades, labor
woes and weather problems hammered the world's top producer, the government said
on Monday.
Aluminium closed at $2,239 a tonne, from a close of $2,279 a tonne
on Monday.
Zinc, used in galvanising, finished at $2,106 from a close of
$2,124. Tin was at $24,345 from $23,975.
Battery material lead closed at $2,213 from $2,265 and stainless
steel ingredient nickel at $20,855 from $21,305.
"Our feeling is that the nickel price now looks to have neared a peak as
Chinese import demand eases and the risks of a correction in the short run are
growing, despite a non-Chinese demand recovery," Macquarie analysts said in a
note.

Metal Prices at 1708 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 378.15 -4.50 -1.18 444.70 -14.97
LME Alum 2241.75 -37.25 -1.63 2470.00 -9.24
LME Cu 8322.50 -106.50 -1.26 9600.00 -13.31
LME Lead 2215.50 -49.50 -2.19 2550.00 -13.12
LME Nickel 20806.00 -499.00 -2.34 24750.00 -15.94
LME Tin 24155.00 180.00 +0.75 26900.00 -10.20
LME Zinc 2100.50 -23.50 -1.11 2454.00 -14.41
SHFE Alu 16305.00 30.00 +0.18 16840.00 -3.18
SHFE Cu* 60620.00 300.00 +0.50 71850.00 -15.63
SHFE Zin 16065.00 125.00 +0.78 19475.00 -17.51
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07