* Copper stocks rise yet again, keeping sentiment in check
* Oil prices still strong, inflation worries linger
* For the Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit:
By Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Tuesday after a sell-off reinvigorated buying interest, but sentiment was fragile as warplanes hit Libya, unrest simmered across the Middle East and Japan's nuclear crisis remained unresolved
Benchmark three-month copper prices CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose to $9,438.50 a tonne at 1045 GMT, after falling 1.2 percent on Monday when it closed at $9,405.
"There is still appetite out there for copper at lower levels," said Gayle Berry, an analyst at Barclays Capital.
"But I don't think we're going to see things push significantly higher just yet because there are an awful lot of headwinds and an awful lot of uncertainties," she added.
For now, though, the market was calmer than last week when worries about risks in Japan, North Africa and the Middle East drove prices to below $9,000 a tonne.
"It seems to be that the initial shock from the major events both in the Middle East and Japan are being somewhat digested by the market, alongside the higher oil price," Berry said.
Also supporting copper, Imperial Metals Corp (III.TO: Quote) said some shipments from its copper mine may be delayed after three Japanese companies declared force majeure on shipments following damages to ports at a smelter after the earthquake in the Northeast Asian country. [ID:nL3E7EL2Y5]
STOCKS RISE, AGAIN
But concerns about supply were kept in check by a rise in copper stocks at LME warehouses. Inventories climbed 3,850 tonnes on Monday to total 434,350 tonnes, scaling their highest levels since July due to an uptrend that started in December.
MCU-STOCKS
Rising stocks have fanned worries about a recent slowdown in Chinese demand, as investors worry that the government's recent moves to stem inflation by tightening monetary policy could be hitting the top copper consumer's buying power.
Aluminium CMAL3 traded at $2,579 a tonne from $2,570 a tonne
Zinc CMZN3 was at $2,310.25 from $2,280 a tonne and battery material lead CMPB3 was at $2,643 from $2,645 a tonne
Tin CMSN3 traded at $29,930 from a last bid of $29,650 a tonne and nickel CMNI3 traded at $26,598 a tonne from a close of $26,750 a tonne.
Also helping copper, investors looking further ahead anticipated strong Japanese copper demand later this year, as the country will be rebuilding. nTOPNOW4
"The expected boost to demand for base metals from the Japanese reconstruction is likely to result in higher prices during Q2," Societe Generale said in a note.
"The underlying strength of the global economy should also help base metals to recover from the recent sell-off," the note added.
Metal Prices at 1045 GMT
Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T
Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2010 Ytd Pct
move
COMEX Cu 427.95 0.25 +0.06 444.70 -3.77
LME Alum 2570.00 0.00 +0.00 2470.00 4.05
LME Cu 9395.00 -10.00 -0.11 9600.00 -2.14
LME Lead 2644.00 -1.00 -0.04 2550.00 3.69
LME Nickel 26725.00 -25.00 -0.09 24750.00 7.98
LME Tin 29650.00 250.00 +0.85 26900.00 10.22
LME Zinc 2280.00 0.00 +0.00 2454.00 -7.09
SHFE Alu 16760.00 65.00 +0.39 16840.00 -0.48
SHFE Cu* 71280.00 -200.00 -0.28 71850.00 -0.79
SHFE Zin 18180.00 175.00 +0.97 19475.00 -6.65
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
(Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFLDE72L10020110322)
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