Nov 26 (Reuters) - London copper prices climbed towards a seven-year high on Thursday, as positive COVID-19 vaccine developments raised hopes for a recovery in global economy soon.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange advanced 1.2% to $7,384 a tonne by 0236 GMT, having hit $7,388 a tonne earlier in the session, the highest since Jan. 3, 2014.

The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose to a 34-month high at 55,220 yuan ($8,408.45) a tonne.

AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Moderna have all reported positive results in their coronavirus vaccine trials, fuelling hopes for a swift economic recovery.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The speculative net long in LME copper rose to 18% of open interest on Monday, close to this year's high of 18.1% on July 13, and rising from 5.2% at the start of the month, Marex Spectron's analytics data showed.

* LME aluminium rose 0.5% to $1,980 a tonne and nickel advanced 0.5% to $16,145 a tonne. In Shanghai, nickel eased 0.7% to 119,640 yuan a tonne.

* A surge in the use of scrap metal due to strict environmental policies could slash global demand for primary aluminium by almost half and cut demand for primary copper and iron by more than a third by 2040, Wood Mackenzie said.

* The price difference between three-month aluminium contracts on the ShFE and LME hit $136.6 a tonne, the highest level since February 2014.

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MARKETS NEWS

* Asian shares dipped slightly as the hot run up in global markets took a breather, with investors switching their focus from vaccine hopes to disappointing U.S. jobs data and new COVID-19 lockdowns.

DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT)

0700 Germany GfK Consumer Sentiment Dec

0745 France Consumer Confidence Nov

($1 = 6.5672 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)