Copper struggles to find momentum as China data weighs

BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Copper prices lost momentum on Wednesday as a seven-month low reading in China's economic data weakened sentiment, though a weaker U.S. dollar lent some support.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.2% at $8,053 a tonne by 0737 GMT, while the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.3% to 64,680 yuan ($9,057.43) a tonne.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 48.0, the lowest reading in seven months, against 49.2 in October, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Economists in a Reuters poll had predicted it to come in at 49.0.

"The weaker than expected data somehow curbed previous upbeat sentiment," a Shanghai-based futures trader said.

Copper prices rallied in the previous session, buoyed by hopes of Beijing loosening its COVID-19 policy after it extended support to the embattled property sector.

"The disappointing PMIs inform us that the incoming reopening process could be slow, painful and bumpy," said Ting Lu, Chief China Economist at Nomura.

Nomura expects the official manufacturing PMI to remain weak at 48.0 in December.

Globally, investors are awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech for insights into the U.S. central bank's monetary policy path.

The dollar index has fallen from a 20-year high hit on Sept. 28, supporting metals prices as it becomes cheaper for non-dollar holders to buy the greenback-priced commodities.

Meanwhile, a trucker strike in Chile that started last week ended on Tuesday after trucker groups signed an agreement with business organisations and the government to improve conditions.

Among other metals, aluminium edged 0.1% up at $2,381.5 a tonne, zinc added 0.1% to $2,937 a tonne, lead climbed 0.3% to $2,141 a tonne, while tin slid 0.4% to $22,700 a tonne.

SHFE aluminium fell 0.8% to 18,795 yuan a tonne, nickel jumped 3.4% to 200,190 yuan a tonne, zinc was down 0.4% at 23,845 yuan a tonne, and tin slid 0.2% to 184,320 yuan a tonne.

For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 7.1411 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, and Uttaresh.V)