METALS-Shanghai copper seen lower; macro jitters linger

SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper was seen
opening with a downside bias on Monday following a 2 percent
decline in London on Friday, but a late recovery in U.S equity
markets in the previous session may temper the bearish
pressure.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3
fell $125 to close at $6,265 a tonne on Friday, but pared
losses in after-hours dealing to $6,285. LME copper fell to
$6,225, its lowest in more than three months.

* When Shanghai closed on Friday, LME copper stood at
$6,362, implying a fall at the open of around 1 percent.

* Copper's weakness at the hands of a stronger dollar and
worries about global growth was blunted by a surprise drop in
U.S. unemployment, but data from the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission showed a 36 percent drop in net length in
non-commercial positions.

* For graphics showing net length and open interest,
click:
here
here
* Economic worries persist. Despite the fall in U.S.
unemployment, non-farm payrolls showed a bigger-than-expected
fall in January while the parlous state of the economies of
Greece and Portugal continue to crimp appetite for risk.
[ID:nEUROPEAND]

MARKET NEWS

* The U.S. dollar was steady on Monday after gains in the
previous session amid worries about fiscal problems in weak
euro zone economies.

* But U.S. stocks erased a midday drop of about 1 percent
to end flat to slightly higher, closing out a volatile week
punctuated by mixed signals from the labour market and anxiety
over Europe. [.N]

* The U.S. unemployment rate surprisingly fell to a
five-month low of 9.7 percent in January and factory payrolls
grew for the first time since 2007, hinting at a labour market
recovery even though the economy lost 20,000 jobs.
[ID:nN04115255]

* U.S. crude for March delivery CLc1 rose 47 cents to
$71.68 a barrel by 2345 GMT. The contract settled down $1.95 at
a seven-week low of $71.19 per barrel on Friday, after earlier
hitting a session low of $69.50.

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Monday ECON:

Euro Zone Sentix index, Feb (0930 GMT)

US employment trend index for January (1500 GMT)
(Reporting by Nick Trevethan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)