SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--Base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell Friday, tracking overnight action on the London Metal Exchange due to fears over further monetary tightening by Beijing. Investors didn't react much to import data for December and 2010, as they were largely in line with expectations and had been factored into prices after preliminary data were issued earlier this month. The benchmark April copper contract settled 1.2% lower at CNY70,850 a metric ton. Analysts said copper prices on the SHFE may continue to lag their London counterparts ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Feb. 2, as unabated concerns over monetary tightening cloud the red metal's near-term demand outlook. "I think investors still consider the current price level too high and therefore aren't willing to make big bets--and given the pre-holiday mood, some investors just choose to cash in," said Zhuo Guiqiu, an analyst with Minmetals Futures. Investors may deem copper prices on the SHFE below CNY70,850/ton a buying opportunity, Zhuo said. Refined copper imports in December declined 1.6% from November and 6.5% from a year earlier to 228,609 metric tons, while 2010 refined copper imports fell 8.4% on year to 2.92 million tons, Customs data showed Friday. China's reduced appetite for refined copper last year was due to less buying amid rising global prices by downstream users on the back of large stockpiles they had accumulated in 2009. Imports will likely decline again this year due to elevated prices and slower growth in China's economy, but restocking by Chinese buyers should give copper prices a near-term boost, while government spending on rural power-grid networks, infrastructure and housing will likely keep the market supported later in the year. Copper traded at the Changjiang Nonferrous Metals Trading Market, a major spot metals market in Shanghai, was quoted at CNY70,050-CNY70,200/ton, down from CNY70,950-CNY71,100/ton Thursday. Three-month LME copper ended Thursday's afternoon kerb down $215 at $9,355/ton. It was quoted 0.5% higher at $9,400/ton around 0700 GMT, when the SHFE closed. Shanghai aluminum settled 0.1% lower while Shanghai zinc settled 1.5% lower. The weekly SHFE inventory report showed that copper stocks declined 2,283 tons on week to 130,364 tons, aluminum stocks fell 3,696 tons to 430,324 tons and Zinc stocks were up 3,334 tons to 324,427 tons. Friday's settlement prices in yuan a metric ton and LME late kerb prices from Thursday in dollars a ton:

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