METALS-Copper flat as U.S., China data offset strong dollar

* Stronger buying interest not seen until next year
* EU recession might be deeper than expected
* U.S. weekly jobless claims fall by 23,000

By Silvia Antonioli and Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Copper steadied on Thursday as a
commitment by the U.S. Federal reserve to stimulate growth, and
encouraging data from the United States as well as from top
metals consumer China were offset by a stronger dollar.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)
ended at $7,815 a tonne, from a close of $7,817 on Wednesday.
Prices earlier fell to their lowest level since early
September at $7,788.75, and were on track for a 2 percent loss
this week, the third consecutive week of declines.
Lifting sentiment in the market, the U.S. central bank on
Wednesday made no changes to its plan to purchase $40 billion in
mortgage-backed debt per month to push interest rates lower and
spur a stronger recovery.
Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign the
labour market is healing, while new orders for long-lasting
manufactured goods increased during the month.
On the housing front, contracts to buy previously owned U.S.
homes rose far less than expected in September, but the data
continued to point to an improving tone in the housing market.

But gains in metals were offset by a stronger dollar, which
makes commodities priced in the U.S. unit more expensive for
holders of other currencies.
"The U.S. data has been improving. We think the U.S. housing
market will be one of the real bright spots in the U.S. economy
over the coming year and that could lead to a more sustained
recovery in the economy and that will certainly be good for
copper," said Nic Brown, head of commodity research at Natixis.
Also helping sentiment was data on Wednesday showing
conditions had improved a little for U.S. and Chinese
manufacturers.
Worries about weak spot demand for industrial metals from
China and uncertainty about the outlook for next year limited
gains, however.
"The manufacturing data is not back to the level we would
like, but it was higher month-on-month, so at least things
aren't deteriorating. All the recent data has been supportive,
but there is nothing out there that would make you want to turn
bullish straight away," Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar
said.
"Although the feeling is that the economy is bottoming out
and there should be better growth and better demand over the
coming months, it may not be until early next year that we
actually see stronger buying interest."
The euro zone sovereign debt crisis continued to depress
economic growth in the area, weighing on sentiment in the metals
market. Businesses suffered another dismal month in October,
suggesting the region's economy may be headed for a deeper
recession than expected.

TOO TEPID TO HELP
Many worried that a tepid rebound in China's economy may not
be enough to drive up demand for base metals.
China's Purchasing Managers Index in September pointed to
the world's second-largest economy making a slow, steady
recovery from its weakest period of growth in three years, with
new orders and output at their highest in months.
But analysts noted that the headline reading of 49.1 was
still below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from
contraction.
"The Chinese economy looks set to improve slightly in the
fourth quarter, which will also lift copper demand and put a
floor on base metal prices," said China Futures Co analyst Yang
Jun.
"But for demand to rise significantly, we need to see a
clear and sustained improvement in China's manufacturing PMI
numbers above 50."
In industry news, Indonesia's top tin miner, PT Timah
, sees its 2012 refined tin production dropping around
21 percent to 30,000 tonnes as it adjusts to new regulations on
ore concentrate, the company said.
The news helped lift benchmark tin on the LME. It
ended at $20,400 from Wednesday's close of $20,275.
In other metals, aluminium closed at $1,939 from
$1,938.50 at Wednesday's close, while battery material lead
ended at $2,005 from $2,008. Lead earlier fell to its
lowest level since early September at $2,002.75.
Zinc closed at $1,838 from $1,855 while nickel
ended at $16,125 from $16,390, its lowest level since
early September.

Metal Prices at 1626 GMT
Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T
Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2011 Ytd Pct
move
COMEX Cu 355.25 -1.55 -0.43 344.75 3.05
LME Alum 1940.50 2.00 +0.10 2020.00 -3.94
LME Cu 7824.75 7.75 +0.10 7600.00 2.96
LME Lead 2010.50 2.50 +0.12 2034.00 -1.16
LME Nickel 16193.00 -197.00 -1.20 18650.00 -13.17
LME Tin 20400.00 125.00 +0.62 19200.00 6.25
LME Zinc 1843.00 -12.00 -0.65 1845.00 -0.11
SHFE Alu 15375.00 -45.00 -0.29 15845.00 -2.97
SHFE Cu* 57230.00 -270.00 -0.47 55360.00 3.38
SHFE Zin 14860.00 -20.00 -0.13 14795.00 0.44
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07