Rewrites, updates prices

BEIJING, July 8 (Reuters) -Copper prices pulled back on Monday, as lacklustre physical consumption and high inventories in top consumer China overshadowed prospects of U.S. interest rate cuts this year.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was down 0.5% to $9,899 per metric ton by 0732 GMT.

The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 shed 0.3% to 79,930 yuan ($10,995.25) a ton.

LME copper had hit a three-week high on Friday, and logged its first weekly increase in seven.

"Last week's rally was primary thanks to speculations of more stimulus and Fed rate cuts, but the actual demand lagged far behind," a China-based trader said.

Data on Friday showed U.S. job growth slowed marginally in June while the unemployment rate rose, boosting bets that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting rates in September.

Investors were also hoping for additional stimulus in China's key third plenum meeting on July 15-18.

But slow consumption has led to an inventory build-up, with deliverable stocks in SHFE warehouses CU-STX-SGH not far from a four-year peak touched last month.

A survey by Shanghai Metals Market showed an unexpected decline in copper cable and wire producers' operation rate last week.

Still, most investors remained optimistic about copper demand and prices later this year.

The Yangshan copper premium SMM-CUYP-CN, or the fee buyers pay for imported cargoes over benchmark LME prices, turned positive on Friday for the first time since mid-May.

LME aluminium CMAL3 dipped 0.1% to $2,533.50 a ton, zinc CMZN3 shed 0.8% to $2,976, lead CMPB3 eased 0.3% to $2,229.50, while nickel CMNI3 rose 0.6% to $17,440, and tin CMSN3 was little moved at $33,885.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 slipped 0.3% to 20,340 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 was down 1.5% to 24,370 yuan, and lead SPBcv1 drifted 0.6% lower to 19,575 yuan, tin SSNcv1 declined 0.5% to 274,760 yuan, while nickel SNIcv1 climbed 1% to 138,610 yuan.

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($1 = 7.2695 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Siyi Liu and Colleen Howe; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Eileen Soreng and Varun H K

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