Updates prices

By Mai Nguyen

Aug 13 (Reuters) -London copper fell on Tuesday as traders booked profits after a three-session rally, but trading volume was thin amid caution ahead of key economic data from the United States and China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 fell 0.6% to $8,977 per metric ton by 0729 GMT, after rising 2.9% over the previous three sessions.

High inventories and weaknesses in global economies have been weighing on metals prices in the past two weeks.

"(Copper) is overbought based on technical indicators, and it's fair (for price) to come down and for short-term traders to take profit," a trader said.

China is due to release its urban investment and loans data this week, and the U.S. will report its consumer price index data on Wednesday, which market players will look to for gauging the timing of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

In contrast to the LME contract, the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 closed up 0.8% at 72,280 yuan ($10,075.27) a ton, tracking the previous session's gains in London.

In recent sessions, copper prices had been boosted by better demand in top consumer China on the back of prices falling below $9,000 a ton, which amounted to around a 20% decline from record highs hit in May.

A copper fabricator in China said improving purchase from the country's State Grid also boosted copper consumption.

Supply disruption in China also lent support, with Jiangxi Copper's subsidiary suspending its plant in Shandong province - which produced 203,023 tons of copper last year - after a fatal copper furnace accident.

LME aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.3% to $2,299 a ton, nickel CMNI3 dropped 0.8% to $16,220, zinc CMZN3 decreased 0.6% to $2,726, lead CMPB3 was down 1% at $2,027.50, tin CMSN3 dropped 1.4% to $31,125.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 fell 0.8% to 18,995 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 eased 0.5% to 128,330 yuan, tin SSNcv1 edged down 0.8% at 255,050 yuan, lead SPBcv1 fell 1.3% to 17,730 yuan while zinc SZNcv1 rose 0.7% to 23,065 yuan.

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($1 = 7.1740 yuan)

Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Varun H K

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