Copper flat in London, firm in Shanghai; eyeing jobs data

SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - London copper opened flat on
Friday underpinned by a softer dollar which traded around
four-month lows after the European Central Bank signalled a more
hawkish interest policy, and optimism towards the impending U.S.
payrolls report.	

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange 
traded at $9,908 a tonne by 0110 GMT, down $2 from Thursday's
last bid. Shanghai's most active copper contract rose
560 yuan to 74,700 yuan.	

 * ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet dropped a bombshell on
markets Thursday explicitly saying an interest rate hike at the
next meeting is possible. 	

 * The euro jumped to a near four-month highs of $1.3976 and
last traded at $1.3959 . Against the yen, the common
currency hit four-month highs at 115.17 and last
stood at 115.01.	

 * The big jump in the euro was potentially highly supportive
for base metals, but there are concerns that an interest rate
rise, combined with higher oil prices may be too much for
consumers to bear and slow the economic recovery.	

 * Optimism about U.S. non-farm payrolls data later on Friday
helped lift metals and equities markets. The median estimate is
for a gain of 185,000 jobs, according to economists polled by
Reuters.	

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 MARKET NEWS  	

 * Investors betting on a big gain in U.S. payrolls pushed
Wall Street to its best one-day rally in three months on
Thursday, but weak volume lingers as a concern for those hoping
for another leg higher. 	

 * Oil prices held steady on Friday, after falling off
2-1/2-year highs on Thursday after Venezuela pitched a plan to
resolve the Libyan crisis. 	

 * An explosive rally in the euro took a breather early in
Asia on Friday ahead of influential U.S. jobs data, but the
single currency is set to stay bid after the European Central
Bank signalled an interest rate hike as early as next month.
 	

 * Spot gold was little changed at $1,416.44 an ounce,
while U.S. gold futures held steady at $1,417.30.	

 DATA/EVENTS (GMT)	

 1330    U.S.     Employment report     Feb     	

 1500    U.S.     Factory Orders     Feb          	

 	
 Base metals prices at 0112 GMT
 Metal              Last       Change   Pct Move YTD pct chg
 LME Cu            9908.00     -2.00     -0.02      3.11
 SHFE CU FUT MAY1    74700       560     +0.76      3.97
 LME Alum          2612.00      1.00     +0.04      5.75
 SHFE AL FUT MAY1    17045       100     +0.59      1.22
 HG COPPER MAY1     451.00     -0.50     +0.45      1.59
 LME Zinc          2507.00     -5.00     -0.20      2.16
 SHFE ZN FUT MAY1    19310       190     +0.99     -0.85
 LME Nickel       28860.00      0.00     +0.00     16.61
 LME Lead          2616.00     -3.00     -0.11      2.59
 LME Tin          31650.00      0.00     +0.00     17.66
 LME/Shanghai arb^          1286
 Dollar/yuan          6.5580 \ 6.5630
 Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most
  active months
 ^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct
  VAT, minus SHFE  third 
 month