* Copper dips by 0.3 pct, Zinc down 0.6 pct
* LME/ShFE arb: http://tmsnrt.rs/2oQ5nm2
* Shfe tin stocks eclipse LME stocks: http://reut.rs/2t47LHN (Adds quotes, updates prices, changes dateline from MELBOURNE)
By Eric Onstad
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Copper dipped on Monday as rising inventories indicated healthy supplies, which outweighed worries about possible strikes at mines in Chile.
Also weighing on the metals market was subdued inflation data in top metals market China as the economy loses momentum.
China's producer price inflation was unchanged in June amid lingering oversupply issues in the steel sector and as signs of economic weakness weighed on the outlook for prices. data was quite steady, giving policymakers in China a sweet spot ... to implement deleveraging (and) fine tuning of the economy," said Xiao Fu, head of commodity market strategy at Bank of China International in London.
Some investors have been worried that monetary tightening in China would hit economic growth, but Fu said the authorities there were wary about moving too fast.
"Overall, I think that there are some headwinds from a stronger U.S. dollar and deleveraging in China, so we are neutral to cautious about base metals in the second half."
* COPPER: London Metal Exchange benchmark copper CMCU3 was down 0.3 percent at $5,808 a tonne by 1002 GMT after small losses in the previous session. Copper prices have been consolidating in a narrow range of $5,800-$5,965 since late June.
* COPPER INVENTORIES: Stocks in LME warehouses rose by 4,900 tonnes to 319,975 on Monday and have gained 32 percent since June 28, showing supplies are adequate.
* COPPER MINES: Losses in copper were shallow, with support offered by the prospect of strikes. Antofagasta ANTO.L in Chile has been facing possible strikes at two mines since last week. COPPER SPECULATORS: In the week to July 3 hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX copper futures and options, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday.
* ZINC: LME zinc CMZN3 shed 0.6 percent to $2,776. Alastair Munro, of broker Marex Spectron, said the metal has struggled to break $2,809/11 July highs and that he expects support into the $2,725 area.
* TIN: Tin stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have surged in the past two months and now stand at about three times the volume of LME tin stocks, reflecting greater availability of tin inside the world's biggest producer of the metal. (http://reut.rs/2t47LHN)
* DOLLAR: The dollar climbed to a two-month high against the Japanese yen on Monday as robust jobs data propped up U.S. Treasury yields. A stronger dollar erodes the purchasing power of buyers outside the United States for commodities priced in the U.S. currency.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Top base and precious metals analysis - GFMS
http://tmsnrt.rs/2lvmIzW Shfe tin stocks eclipse LME stocks
http://reut.rs/2t47LHN LME/ShFE arb
http://tmsnrt.rs/2oQ5nm2
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>