MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (Reuters) - London copper on Monday edged higher from the $7,000 level that has marked support so far this
year, as an upbeat mood among Japanese manufacturers added to a brightening picture for global metals demand. A resilient property market in China and a pick up in global
manufacturing growth are adding to a rosier outlook for this year, said analyst Helen Lau of broker Argonaut Securities in
Hong Kong. "The global economy is stronger, so China's exports will be better than last year. Unless China has a major policy to
tighten the market, we think the demand picture overall will be slightly more optimistic this year." In the near term, however, a seasonal soft patch between
Christmas and the Lunar New Year in mid-February, and the potential for a dollar rally could also pressure prices of some
metals. "For copper there are some risks. Prices have climbed a lot, and the net long position is very high so it's very likely for
either end users or investors to trim their positions." FUNDAMENTALS: * COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper was up 0.5
percent at $7,076 a tonne, as of 0355 GMT, reversing losses from the previous session. Prices last week edged down to $7,027,
with the $7,000 as yet unbroken this year. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper cut early losses to trade down just 0.2 percent at 53,630 yuan ($8,373) a tonne.
* JAPAN: Confidence among Japanese manufacturers jumped in January to an 11-year high, the Reuters Tankan poll showed on
Monday, highlighting corporate optimism driven by nearly two years of uninterrupted economic expansion and a buoyant stock
market. * ZINC, LEAD: LME zinc and lead edged down from 10-year and six-year peaks respectively on Friday, after a bump fuelled by
falling LME stocks. * USD: The dollar hovered near a three-year low even after San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said
he expects the U.S. central bank to continue raising rates at a gradual pace during 2018. * CHINA GDP: China's better-than-expected economic growth in
the fourth quarter of last year was supported by continued strength in the services industry and an expanding agricultural
sector, official data published on Friday showed. * CHINA POWER: China's power consumption for all of 2017 rose 6.6 percent from a year ago to 6.31 trillion kilowatt hours
(kWh), according to data published by the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Monday. * CHINA POLLUTION: China will impose "special emissions
restrictions" on enterprises in major industrial sectors in northern China later this year, as it bids to ensure its war on
pollution continues once a tough winter anti-smog campaign ends in March. * U.S. ALUMINIUM: The U.S. Commerce Department has sent
President Donald Trump the results of its national security probe into aluminium imports, Trump administration officials
said on Sunday, while declining to disclose details.
