LME Copper rebounds ahead of U.S. payrolls data

* . LME copper gains on Asian physical trading

* . Fears of U.S. economic recovery still weighs

* . Coming up: U.S. non-farm payrolls, May; 1230 GMT

(Updates prices, adds quotes and details)

By Carrie Ho

SHANGHAI, June 3 (Reuters) - LME copper rose on Friday lifted by buoyant physical trading ahead of closely-watched U.S. payrolls data as Asian investors rushed to restock after prices dipped sharply overnight.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rallied 1.9 percent to $9,091.75 at a tonne by 0737 GMT, recouping its previous losses when it fell to a session trough of $8,905.75, its lowest since May 25.

The contract was on track to a more than 1 percent weekly loss, snapping two consecutive weekly gains.

The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 1.1 percent to 68,420 yuan per tonne.

Physical traders said they took the opportunity to stock up after base metals prices fell sharply, even while speculators backed off due to nervousness towards the U.S. economy. [ID:nL3E7H30DM]

"We have been seeing good physical demand from China, India and Japan even before last night. And when base metal prices fell overnight, it triggered more buying on the physical side," said Pinaki Rath, managing director of Gold Matrix Resources.

Most LME metals have recovered to their previous day's open price but investors may look to upcoming key U.S. data later in the day for price direction from here.

"It was a very significant turnaround, and whether this can be sustained hinges on tonight's release of the non-farm payroll data out of the U.S," said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services in Sydney.

Economists revised down their forecast on the May non-farm payrolls data, after a report on Wednesday showed a sharp slowdown in private job growth last month, following a slew of disappointing data this week. [ID:nN01187478] [ID:nN02246578]

Markets fell on Thursday after ratings agency Moody's warned it would consider cutting the United States top-notch credit rating if progress is not made by mid-July in talks to raise its debt limit. [ID:nN01214888]

The euro edged down against the dollar on Friday after touching a one-month high in early Asian trading hours on expectations of a bailout for debt-laden Greece, and the dollar steadied against a basket of currencies. [ID:nLDE7510VR]

Base metals prices at 0737 GMT

Metal              Last       Change   Pct Move YTD pct chg
 LME Cu            9091.75    171.75     +1.93     -5.29
 SHFE CU FUT AUG1    68420       760     +1.12     -4.77
 LME Alum          2640.00     24.00     +0.92      6.88
 SHFE AL FUT AUG1    16940       100     +0.59      0.59
 HG COPPER JUL1     412.35      4.20     +0.95     -7.12
 LME Zinc          2257.00     37.00     +1.67     -8.03
 SHFE ZN FUT AUG1    17475       255     +1.48    -10.27
 LME Nickel       22760.00    210.00     +0.93     -8.04
 LME Lead          2432.00     28.00     +1.16     -4.63
 SHFE PB FUT         16890        10     +0.06     -7.96
 LME Tin          26850.00    250.00     +0.94     -0.19
 LME/Shanghai arb     500
 

Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months

^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month

Shanghai lead launched on March 24

(Editing by Ed Lane)

Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL3E7H304520110603