(adds analyst comment, updates prices) BEIJING, Jan 24...

(adds analyst comment, updates prices)

BEIJING, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper prices fell on Wednesday, tracking a sharp decline in London on Tuesday after London Metal Exchange (LME)refined copper inventories surged and concerns grew over the strength of import demand in top copper consumer China.

On-warrant copper stocks in facilities certified by the LME MCUSTX-TOTAL - metal not earmarked for delivery from warehouses and available for investors - jumped by 28 percent on Tuesday, data showed.

Cancelled LME warrants plunged by 16 percent to 44,000 tonnes, the biggest decline in the past four months, according to brokerage Argonaut Securities. "This decline in cancelled warrants may point to a weak imports appetite from China in January," analyst Helen Lau wrote in a note.

China imported 450,000 tonnes of unwrought copper in December, down 6.9 percent year-on-year, according to customs data released on Tuesday. China's own refined copper production was also at an all-time high of 865,000 tonnes last month.

FUNDAMENTALS

• SHFE COPPER: The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) SCFcv1 was down 1.6 percent to 52,770 yuan ($8,259) a tonne at the mid-session interval. It earlier touched 52,520 yuan a tonne, the lowest since Dec. 14, 2017.
• LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the LME CMCU3 gained 0.3 percent to $6,944.50 a tonne at 0421 GMT, partly recovering from a 2.1 percent drop to a one-month low in the previous session.
• USD: The dollar index <.DXY> was down 0.2 percent at a three-year low. A weak greenback makes dollar-denominated metals cheaper for holders of other currencies and supports prices.
• BUMPER PROFITS: Zijin Mining Group Co <601899.SS>, <2899.HK>, a Chinese gold and nonferous metals miner, expects 2017 net profits to rise 85-95 percent from a year ago.

• LEAD: ShFE lead SPBcv1 continued its recent rally due to tight lead stocks and output curbs in China on environmental grounds, climbing 0.7 percent to 19,720 yuan a tonne.
• CHILE: Chile's conservative President-elect Sebastian Pinera on Tuesday named a former finance minister in the top copper exporter, Felipe Larrain, to fill the same spot again in his new cabinet.
• SCRAP: China's imports of scrap copper fell 19.8 percent in December from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, as the country continues a clampdown on taking foreign waste.

• RIO: The top U.S. securities regulator on Tuesday rejected arguments by Rio Tinto Plc , (RIO) and two former top executives that its civil lawsuit claiming they concealed the plunging value of coal assets owned by the big Anglo-Australian mining company should be dismissed.
• BRAZIL: Anglo American PLC said on Tuesday it expects to receive long-awaited licenses on Friday which will pave the way for the mining company to boost its Brazilian iron ore production capacity by about 56 percent.

  For the top stories in metals and other news, click [TOP/MTL] or [MET/L]

  MARKETS NEWS

• Asian share markets took a time out on Wednesday as investors were left breathless at the breakneck pace of recent gains, while a fresh burst of speculative selling took the U.S. dollar to three-year lows.

  {MKTS/GLOB]

  DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0800 France Markit manufacturing flash PMI Jan 0830 Germany Markit manufacturing flash PMI Jan 0900 Euro zone Markit manufacturing flash PMI Jan 1400 U.S. Monthly home price index Nov 1445 U.S. Markit manufacturing flash PMI Jan 1500 U.S. Existing home sales

  PRICES

  0421 GMT Three month LME copper CMCU3 6944.50 Most active ShFE copper SCFcv1 52760 Three month LME aluminium CMAL3 2229 Most active ShFE aluminium SAFcv1 14710 Three month LME zinc CMZN3 3416.5 Most active ShFE zinc SZNcv1 26100 Three month LME lead CMPB3 2617.5 Most active ShFE lead SPBcv1 19715 Three month LME nickel CMNI3 12845 Most active ShFE nickel SNIcv1 99270 Three month LME tin CMSN3 20730 Most active ShFE tin SSNcv1 146410 LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 1025.95 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1840.45 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 267.21 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 -512.21 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 2136.41

($1 = 6.3895 Chinese yuan renminbi)

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