METALS-Copper Down 1.3 Percent on Econ Recovery Doubts

NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Copper fell to its lowest price in almost two weeks on Thursday, burned by a strong dollar and the latest signs that the U.S. economic recovery has not gained traction.

The 1.3 percent slide in U.S. copper futures came as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke this week told Congress that the job market was still too weak to start raising short-term interest rates soon.

In confirmation on Thursday, Labor Department data showed 496,000 jobless registered for unemployment insurance in the latest week, up from 473,000. 

Even when a 3 percent gain in January orders for durable goods came in better than expected, it did not dispel the gloom, which clouded the outlook for demand and pushed the Dow Jones Industrial average down 89 points by midafternoon.

At New York's COMEX, May copper HGK0 dropped 4.35 cents to $3.21 a lb, its lowest close since Feb. 12. Copper for three-month delivery MCU3 on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6,999 a tonne, down from Wednesday's $7,155 and was quoted in late New York trade at $7,070 a tonne.

"We are still in a swimming pool-shaped economic recovery, which means very slow kicking across the bottom, and then it eventually starts to turn slowly up. We are certainly not in a V-shaped recovery, and copper demand from that standpoint, could be hurt," said Bill O'Neill, partner at LOGIC Advisors in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

The dollar rose against the euro in the morning, deterring holders of other currencies from buying dollar-denominated commodities, before stumbling in the afternoon.

The euro was undermined by Standard and Poor's comments on Wednesday that it may cut Greece's BBB+ rating by one or two notches within a month. 

Even as Bernanke pledged in testimony on Wednesday and Thursday to keep interest rates low, investors focused more on the Fed Chairman's remarks about an uncertain outlook for economic recovery. 

A report on Wednesday showing January new U.S. home sales fell 11 percent to a record low highlighted Bernanke's predicament and trouble looming for copper, which is used mainly in plumbing and wiring.

STOCKS EYED

LME copper stocks fell 2,450 tonnes to 550,225, while canceled warrants rose to 16,600 tonnes versus 14,000 tonnes, indicating further outflows of metal going forward.

Also hitting copper prices, top metals consumer China has had a muted return from last week's Lunar New Year holidays.

"In 2010 it's unrealistic to expect China to support copper prices. Demand from Europe and the U.S. has to improve. Copper consumption in China is likely to grow at a slower pace from last year," said Liu Xu of China International Futures.

Stoking concerns that Chinese demand could soften, data on Wednesday showed China's refined copper imports fell to 196,926 tonnes in January, from 244,013 tonnes in December. Record imports from China last year helped copper surge 140 percent.

In other industrial metals, aluminum MAL3 closed at $2,086 a tonne, down versus $2,137.

LME data showed stocks fell 4,000 tonnes to total 4.58 million tonnes. Much of the stock remains tied up in financing deals, meaning there is not much available for consumption.