METALS-Shanghai copper seen weaker on LME losses

SHANGHAI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper is expected toopen lower on Thursday, tracking the dip in London prices, as astronger dollar weighs and investors worry about economicprospects.

  FUNDAMENTALS * Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange MCU3fell $165 to close to $7,230 a tonne on Wednesday, and hit$7,035.75 in after-hour trading, a near one-month low. * When Shanghai closed on Wednesday, LME copper stood at$7,355 a tonne. * Australia's Century zinc mine ceased concentrateproduction due to a tropical storm bearing down on Australia'stropical north region, the mine's owner, Minmetals said onThursday. * The U.S. Federal Reserve offered a guardedly upbeat viewof the U.S. economy and renewed its pledge to keep interestrate near zero despite the objection of one policy maker.

[ID:nN27180815] * U.S. President Obama is scheduled to deliver the State ofUnion address at 0200 GMT, and is likely to push populistthemes like curbing Wall Street excesses. [ID:nN26136373] * LME's copper inventories grew by 5,025 tonnes on Thursdayto 538,600 tonnes, its highest in nearly 11 months. * LME aluminium MAL3 hit $2,146 on Wednesday, the lowestsince Dec 9, 2009. * Primary aluminium stocks in China are expected to risefurther ahead of Lunar New Year holidays as fabricators slowdown operations amid weaker domestic demand, pressuring prices,industry sources said.[ID:nTOE60P0B3] MARKET NEWS * The U.S. dollar retained broad gains on Thursday,hovering just below six-month highs on the euro, boosted byspeculation over higher interest rates in the U.S. [USD/] * U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after the U.S. FederalReserve said it will keep interest rates near zero and ahead ofPresident Barack Obama's State of the Union addresstonight.[.N] DATA/EVENTS * The following data is expected on Thursday:   - Euro Zone economic sentiment, Jan (1000 GMT)   - U.S. durable goods for December (1330 GMT)   - Weekly U.S. jobless claims (1330 GMT) RELATED NEWS > METALS-Industrial metals remain under pressure[ID:nLDE60Q134] > Century zinc mine to yield 500,000-510,000/tin[ID:nSYU009309] > China's Jinchuan takes piece of Tanzaniaproject[ID:nN27211400] > Record commodity investment inflows in'09-Barcl[ID:nLDE60Q2H9] > Commodity FX long-term bet afternear-term dip  [ID:nLDE60Q2HS] > Spot copper fees 35 pct belowbenchmark-PanAust [ID:nSGE60Q0CP] > China aluminium stocks seenrising ahead of Luna[ID:nTOE60P0B3]

 (Reporting by Rujun Shen and Edmund Klamann; Editing byAnshuman Daga)