* China Oct copper imports slump; output hits record * U.S. Treasury Sec Geithner says strong dlr important (Updates prices, adds China copper trade data) By Rujun Shen and Edmund Klamann SHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Copper prices inched lower on Wednesday in thin trading, as China's October copper imports came in lower than expected while the country's copper output hit a record high. China imported 263,109 tonnes of unwrought copper and semi-finished copper products, down 34 percent from a month earlier after a surprise jump in September, signaling softening demand. [ID:nSP438867] "Given the perception that China will continue to drive metals demand for some time, these kinds of numbers are slightly worrying. We've already got some pretty high stock levels out there, so this is likely to cause a bit of a stir today," said Darren Heathcote, an analyst at Investec Bank in Australia. As copper imports fell, China's refined copper production hit a record high for the second straight month as producers geared up to meet their yearly output plans. [ID:nPEK304880] For a graphic on China's copper output, click: here Shanghai's benchmark third-month copper futures contract SCFc3 ended the morning session little changed at 50,720 yuan ($7,430), giving up early gains. The most-active contract for February delivery SCFG0 edged down 30 yuan to 50,830 yuan. Three-month copper futures contract on the London Metal Exchange shed $20 to $6,510 a tonne by 0424 GMT. Trading volume on London copper was 334 lots, compared to a typical 2,000 lots during Asian trading hours, suggesting thin interest. "The same problems remain -- investors are bullish on next year, but no one wants to take the initiative to push prices up," said a Shanghai-based trader. "High inventories are hanging over, while consumption appears sluggish. But there isn't really downward momentum either, because of the bullish view on next year." LME copper inventories kept rising on Tuesday, up 4,675 tonnes to a six-month high of 394,150 tonnes. "It's difficult for consumption to catch up at such high price levels. Consumers simply don't want to buy," said Lin Yuhui, deputy general manager of Jinhui Futures, adding that buyers would be interested if prices dropped to 48,000 yuan. "The current prices were mostly supported by the falling dollar, but pressure from the weak spot market is growing." U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that he believes strongly in the need to maintain a strong dollar and said the United States was determined to get its budget deficit down. [ID:nTKU105666] Supporting sentiment, a strike is brewing at Antamina, a major copper mine in Peru, as talks between the union and the company had broken down. [ID:nN10315484] Base metals prices at 0424 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2008 Pct chg 09 LME Cu 6510.00 -20.00 -0.31 3060.00 112.75 SHFE Cu* 50720.00 -20.00 -0.04 23840.00 112.75 LME Alum 1950.00 -10.00 -0.51 1535.00 27.04 SHFE Alum* 15115.00 -5.00 -0.03 11540.00 30.98 COMEX Cu** 295.70 0.00 +0.00 139.50 111.97 LME Zinc 2150.00 -11.00 -0.51 1208.00 77.98 SHFE Zinc 16645.00 -10.00 -0.06 10120.00 64.48 LME Nickel 16870.00 45.00 +0.27 11700.00 44.19 LME Lead 2270.00 -18.00 -0.79 999.00 127.23 LME Tin 14700.00 -125.00 -0.84 10700.00 37.38 LME/Shanghai arb^ 1268 Dollar/yuan 6.8255 \ 6.8278 ** 1st contract month for COMEX copper * 3rd contact month for SHFE aluminium, copper and zinc ^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month (Editing by Michael Urquhart)

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