METALS-LME copper down as dollar firms after US jobs data

SHANGHAI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - London copper fell more than 1
percent on Monday, giving up last week's gains as the dollar
firmed after a surprise drop in the U.S. jobless rate, while
traders eyed data from top consumer China later this week for
clues on demand.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange
fell 1.1 percent to $8,200.50 per tonne by 0112 GMT.
* The most active January copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange lost 1.1 percent to 59,120 yuan
($9,400) per tonne. Chinese traders returned to the market on
Monday after a week-long national holiday.
* The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 7.8
percent in September and reached its lowest level since
President Barack Obama took office, providing a boost to his
re-election bid.
* The promising jobs data led to some concerns stimulus
measures put in place in world's biggest economy may not last as
long as initially thought.
* Persistently poor labor market conditions led the Federal
Reserve in September to announce a plan to buy $40 billion worth
of mortgage-backed securities each month until it sees a
sustained turnaround in employment.
* A disappointing rebound in U.S. housing continues to trip
up the country's overall economic recovery, two influential
Federal Reserve officials said on Friday, highlighting a corner
of the economy that still frustrates monetary policymakers.

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make her first visit
to Greece next week since the euro zone debt crisis erupted, in
a show of support for Athens after it said it would run out of
money at the end of November without fresh international aid.

* The European Central Bank envisions buying large volumes
of sovereign bonds for a period of one to two months once its
"OMT" programme is launched, but would then suspend purchases
during an assessment period, senior central bank sources told
Reuters.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click
, or

MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks edged lower on Monday and other riskier
assets such as commodities fell as investors remained cautious
about the outlook for the global economy and corporate earnings
despite the better-than-expected U.S. jobs numbers.
* The dollar hit a two-week high versus the yen on Friday
after data showed the U.S. unemployment rate fell to a near
four-year low in September. A firmer dollar makes commodities
priced in the greenback expensive for holders of other
currencies.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0230 China HSBC services PMI for September
0600 Germany Trade data for August
0830 Euro zone Sentix index for October
1000 Germany Industrial output for August
European Central Bank and Federal Reserve hold conference
in Frankfurt (to Oct. 10)

Base metals prices at 0112 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 8200.50 -94.50 -1.14 7.90
SHFE CU FUT JAN3 59120 -650 -1.09 6.27
LME Alum 2096.00 -14.00 -0.66 3.76
SHFE AL FUT DEC2 15695 -65 -0.41 -0.92
HG COPPER DEC2 374.05 -3.75 -0.99 8.86
LME Zinc 2059.00 -16.00 -0.77 11.60
SHFE ZN FUT JAN3 15530 -250 -1.58 4.97
LME Nickel 18281.00 -19.00 -0.10 -2.29
LME Lead 2269.00 -19.00 -0.83 11.50
SHFE PB FUT 16005 -215 -1.33 4.68
LME Tin 22300.00 -100.00 -0.45 16.15
LME/Shanghai arb 1172

Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE
third month

($1 = 6.2849 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Carrie Ho; Editing by Himani Sarkar)