* Copper gains 1 pct on Shanghai, the firm's London
* Friedland Ivanhoe: "incredibly optimistic" about the copper after
Japan quake
* Near-doubt keep prices plunged terms
(Updates prices, adds quotes and details.)
By Nick Trevethan
SINGAPORE, March 23 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose in London and Shanghai on Wednesday after upbeat comments from executives of mining in the context of metal, but the gains were controlled by short-term concerns about demand China and geopolitical tension in the Middle East and North Africa.
The three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose $ 27 to $ 9,517 a tonne at 0338 GMT, while most active Shanghai copper futures contract, June, rose 660 yuan to 71,940 yuan per ton.
Market concerns about the slowdown in China's demand for base metals in the first quarter persisted, following a drop in imports in February.
"Certainly in the first quarter of the year, have not been anywhere as aggressive as they have been in previous years," said Michael Overlander, managing director at brokerage Sucden Financial, on China's copper imports.
China could be sitting on a large number of unreported stocks of copper - estimated by Standard Chartered at 550,000 tons in bonded warehouses in Shanghai alone - in addition to 177,000 tons in deposits of the Shanghai Futures Exchange and 434,000 tons in LME warehouses.
"China does not need copper at this time - is filled.
The arbitration shall be closed and will not change until the people in bondage have arrived, "said a trader in Sydney. LME copper traded at a premium of 1,100 yuan in Shanghai, accounting for VAT from 17 percent in China.
But the earthquake in Japan can help markets close after Japanese traders went to the people of Shanghai for the metal, bringing physical premiums to about $ 40 per tonne over LME cash price, versus $ 10 - $ 20 before the earthquake.
"What happened in Japan is incredibly optimistic for copper," said Ivanhoe Mines Ltd chief executive Robert Friedland in the Mines and Money conference in Hong Kong.
Friedland also saw "profound implications" for copper prices in the long-term demand in China as the country builds a massive rail network high speed and increases the use of electric cars.
Reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan could cost more than $ 300 million and take years, with analysts estimating as much as 10 percent of money spent on metals such as copper and steel.
"It takes a lot of metal - steel, copper, aluminum, lead and zinc to replace power plants, buildings, cars and factories that have been lost," said a trader in Hong Kong.
"It's bullish for the copper itself, but I would not go as far as" incredibly optimistic. " The biggest story will continue and that China is the market for investors really need to see. "
In the short term, investors are nervous about the risks posed by high energy prices resulting from the civil war in Libya and protests in the Middle East, most recently Syria and Yemen.
At least two explosions were heard in the Libyan capital of Tripoli before dawn Wednesday, witnesses told Reuters. No anti-aircraft fire were heard in the city, while in Syria for at least six people were killed in an attack on a mosque in the southern city of Dera, site of unprecedented protests in defiance of President Bashar al-Assad's Baathist state, said residents.
Base metals prices at 0338 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 9517.00 27.00 +0.28 -0.86
SHFE CU FUT JUN1 71940 660 +0.93 0.13
LME Alum 2595.00 -5.00 -0.19 5.06
SHFE AL FUT JUN1 16820 60 +0.36 -0.12
HG COPPER MAY1 432.50 2.80 +0.28 -2.58
LME Zinc 2368.25 36.75 +1.58 -3.49
SHFE ZN FUT JUN1 18645 465 +2.56 -4.26
LME Nickel 26480.00 130.00 +0.49 6.99
LME Lead 2689.00 19.00 +0.71 5.45
LME Tin 30210.00 60.00 +0.20 12.30
LME/Shanghai arb^ 1095
Dollar/yuan 6.5591 \ 6.5593
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third
month
(Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL3E7EN09E20110323)
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