METALS-Shanghai copper off 14-mth top, LME drops with equities

* LME copper slips 0.9 pct after hitting 13-½ mth high

* Asian stocks retreat, dollar firms

* Base metals seen fully valued

* Century mine zinc port stockpile to run out
(Adds Century mine zinc stockpile, China nickel comments,
updates prices)

By Manolo Serapio Jr.

MANILA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper came off near
14-month highs on Tuesday as equities retreated and the dollar
edged up from multi-month lows, and London futures eased as
investors locked in recent gains.

Profit-taking also hit Asian stocks as the U.S. currency
.DXY regained some ground versus a basket of currencies after
falling to 15-month lows in the previous session following U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reiteration that the
central bank was likely to keep interest rates at very low
levels for some time. [MKTS/GLOB]

Copper jumped to 13-½ month peaks in London on Monday as
a weaker dollar and better-than-forecast U.S. retail sales
boosted sentiment.

"In my view, base metals are quite fully valued, with
investors pricing in bullish assumptions for the international
economy," said David Moore, commodity strategist at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"At some point, we'll see some pullback in prices."

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange MCU3
eased $60 to $6,795 a tonne at 0702 GMT, after surging 5.1
percent to close at $6,855 on Monday, a level not seen since
late September 2008.

Shanghai's benchmark third month copper SCFc3 rose 450
yuan to close at 53,200 yuan ($7,789) a tonne, after hitting a
high of 53,840 yuan earlier, its loftiest since Sept. 23, 2008.

Unseasonably early and heavy snow in northern China is also
supporting sentiment on potential output disruption and
expectations of firmer copper demand to rebuild any damaged
power infrastructure, said Shao Hebin, analyst at Great Wall
Futures in Shanghai.
But Shanghai copper has not kept pace with the strong gains on
the LME, having touched 13-month highs already on Monday,
traders said.

"The local market also expects LME prices to retrace
tonight so the gains in Shanghai are smaller," said Shao.

Elsewhere, Shanghai zinc SZNc3 added 35 yuan to 17,540
yuan, off a high of 17,770 yuan, its best since late May last
year.

Australia's Century zinc mine will run out of concentrate
at its shipping port later on Tuesday, forcing buyers from the
world's second largest zinc mine to look for other supply
sources. [ID:nSYD71227]

"In the longer run, zinc prices can strengthen quite
strongly as the zinc market will ultimately tighten up," said
Commonwealth's Moore.

In other industry news, the growth of China's real
consumption of nickel is expected to slow to 5.1 percent next
year after a 37.6 percent surge this year as the stainless
steel market digests stocks, a senior analyst at state-backed
research group Antaike said. [ID:nHKG205509]

LME nickel MNI3 dropped $100 to $16,700 a tonne.
Base metals prices at 0702 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2008 Pct chg
09
LME Cu 6795.00 -60.00 -0.88 3060.00
122.06
SHFE Cu* 53200.00 450.00 +0.85 23840.00
123.15
LME Alum 2010.00 -20.00 -0.99 1535.00
30.94
SHFE Alum* 15385.00 0.00 +0.00 11540.00
33.32
COMEX Cu** 310.05 0.00 +0.00 139.50
122.26
LME Zinc 2250.00 -29.00 -1.27 1208.00
86.26
SHFE Zinc 17540.00 35.00 +0.20 10120.00
73.32
LME Nickel 16700.00 -100.00 -0.60 11700.00
42.74
LME Lead 2355.00 -35.00 -1.46 999.00
135.74
LME Tin 14835.00 -150.00 -1.00 10700.00
38.64
LME/Shanghai arb^ 1069
Dollar/yuan 6.8261 \ 6.8271
** 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
(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)