AB: Copper ends lower as data spurs recovery concerns
* Copper stocks rise in London, Shanghai
* Shanghai zinc stocks surge, weighing on prices
* Investors mull mixed data for evidence of demand growth (Recasts, updates with closing copper prices, adds comment and NEW YORK byline/dateline)
NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 30 - Copper prices ended with sharp losses on Friday, weighed down by a firmer dollar and weaker equities, after mixed economic data raised concerns about the sustainability of the global recovery and its impact on demand for industrial metals.
Copper for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division sank 7.40 cents, or 2.4 percent, to close at $2.9555 a lb, near the bottom of its $2.9420 to $3.05 session range.
On the London Metal Exchange, benchmark copper shed $184.50 to settle at $6,480 a tonne.
"The market is clearly confused," Daniel Brebner, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said. "You are getting good news followed by bad news, followed by mediocre news. So, directionally, it's challenging to arrive at any kind of conviction."
Economic recovery hopes took a hit after U.S. consumer sentiment slipped in October, while business activity in the U.S. Midwest was strong. Separate data showed employment costs rose 0.4 percent in the third quarter.
The data countered optimism on Thursday fed by the U.S. economy's return to growth in the third quarter.
"What a difference a day makes," Zachary Oxman, managing director with TrendMax Futures in Encinitas, California, said. "The numbers are not what they seem to be ... GDP was completely government-driven and now we see consumer data that shows we are not getting better."
The uncertain economic outlook drove investors into safer havens like the U.S. dollar, which makes dollar-priced metals more expensive for non-U.S. investors.
CHINA DOUBTS
Copper prices have more than doubled in the year to date, boosted by a declining dollar, large fund flows and record import buying by China, the world's largest metals consumer.
More recently, worries the Chinese will reduce import buying in the fourth quarter have capped gains, especially as demand in other economies cannot make up for reduced Chinese buying.
LME copper stocks continue rising, indicating weak demand outside China. Latest data showed stocks rose 800 tonnes to 372,200, the highest level in more than five months. Copper stocks monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 7 percent from a week earlier.
China's refined copper imports surged by more than a quarter in September, but analysts think it is only a matter of time before the buying subsides.
Among other industrial metals, aluminum, used in transport and packaging, closed at $1,910, down from $1,955.
Zinc, used to galvanize steel, ended at $2,160, down from $2,265. It earlier touched a one week low at $2,158, but still gained about 11 percent this month.
Battery material lead ended at $2,305, down from $2,365. Tin hit a one week low at $14,530, but ended at $14,700, down from $15,000. Steel-making ingredient nickel closed at $18,250, down from $18,690.
