Copper steady after upbeat U.S. job data; eyes on Libya

SINGAPORE, March 7 (Reuters) - Copper prices held steady in
Shanghai and on the London Metal Exchange on Monday, after
strong U.S. jobs data, while investors eyed the escalating
tensions in Libya for further trading cues.  

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange 
edged down 0.2 percent at $9,877 a tonne by 0101 GMT, after a
1.4 percent weekly rise.	

 * Shanghai's most-active copper futures contract 
inched down 0.4 percent at 74,450 yuan a tonne, reversing a 3
percent rise last week.	

 * Chile's Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, sees
tight supply-demand balance in the global copper market through
2011 and probably 2012. 	

 * Fears that Libya is on the edge of a civil war pushed U.S.
Crude oil futures to 2-1/2 year high above $105 a barrel.
  	

 * U.S. employers hired workers at the fastest pace in nine
months in February and the jobless rate slipped to a nearly
two-year low of 8.9 percent, showing the economy is finally
kicking into a higher gear. 	

 * For stories from PDAC 2011, the world's largest mining
convention, see 	

 * For the top stories in metals and other news, click 	
 , or    

 MARKETS NEWS	

 * Wall Street erased most of its weekly gains on Friday as
fears of more geopolitical turmoil and higher oil prices
threaten to stifle rallies in coming weeks. 	

 * The dollar struggled against a basket of major currencies
early in Asia on Monday after failing to get a boost from data
showing a rebound in U.S. jobs, while the euro stayed supported
on expectations of an interest rate hike next month. 	

 DATA/EVENTS	
1130 GMT    ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet holds media
conference after central banker meeting       

PRICES    	
 Base metals prices at 0101 GMT
  Metal              Last       Change   Pct Move YTD pct chg
  LME Cu            9877.00    -18.00     -0.18      2.89
  SHFE CU FUT MAY1    74450      -270     -0.36      3.62
  LME Alum          2600.00      0.00     +0.00      5.26
  SHFE AL FUT MAY1    16990        00     +0.00      0.89
  HG COPPER MAY1     449.40     -0.30     +0.19      1.23
  LME Zinc          2483.00     22.00     +0.89      1.18
  SHFE ZN FUT MAY1    19180       -90     -0.47     -1.51
  LME Nickel       28700.00   -100.00     -0.35     15.96
  LME Lead          2625.00     -5.00     -0.19      2.94
  LME Tin          31850.00      0.00     +0.00     18.40
  LME/Shanghai arb^          1449
  Dollar/yuan          6.5679 \ 6.5687

Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months

^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE  third month
	
	
 (Reporting by Rujun Shen)	

(Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL3E7E701Q20110307)