METALS-Copper falls on soft Chinese factory data, higher inventories

(Updates prices at 1630 GMT) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Copper prices retreated on Thursday on worse than expected factory data in top metals consumer China and rising inventories that highlighted excess supply. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 was down 1.9% to $9,048 per metric ton at 1630 GMT, after rising 2.8% in the previous session. Those gains were largely due to investors locking in profits from short positions to take advantage of recent weakness, traders said. LME copper has given up 18% since touching a record peak of $11,104.50 in May, weighed down by worries about weak demand in China. The concerns were deepened after surveys over the past two days showed a sluggish manufacturing sector, with activity in July shrinking for the first time in nine months as factory owners struggled with poor demand. Investors have been disappointed that China has not announced major stimulus measures to boost the economy. "It's a guessing game on China. The data is indicating that they need to make a bolder move, make an announcement fairly soon," said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree. "They had the politburo meeting, which could have been a great opportunity to articulate something meaningful and bold, but they didn't really do that." High inventories in exchange-approved warehouses are also dampening the market, with LME copper stocks having more than doubled since the start of June and touching the highest in nearly three years. MCUSTX-TOTAL A firmer dollar index =USD also weighed on metals prices, making commodities priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Nickel was the biggest decliner on the LME after a jump in LME inventories to the highest since December 2021 0#MNISTX-LOC . The price CMNI3 eased 2.3% to $16,230 a ton. In other metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 dipped 0.2% to $2,285.50 a ton, lead CMPB3 eased 1.3% to $2,057.50, tin CMSN3 fell 1% to $29,750, while zinc CMZN3 gained 0.7% to $2,695. For the top stories in metals, click TOP/MTL <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange https://reut.rs/3XbstHn ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Mark Potter) (([email protected]; +44 20 7542 7093; Twitter https://twitter.com/reutersEricO; Reuters Messaging: [email protected])) ((For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C Foreign exchange rates FX= SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX ))