SINGAPORE, Feb 6 (Reuters) – London copper prices edged lower on Wednesday, falling for the first time in three sessions on concerns over slowing factory activity in China – the world’s biggest industrial metals consumer.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slid 0.1 percent to $6,229.50 a tonne by 0149 GMT.

* China’s factory activity shrank by the most in almost three years in January as new orders slumped further and output fell, a private survey showed, reinforcing fears that a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy is deepening.

* Senior U.S. and Chinese officials are poised to start another round of trade talks in Beijing next week to push for a deal to protect American intellectual property and avert a March 2 increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, two people familiar with the plans said on Tuesday.

* Trump was expected to challenge Democrats to approve funding for his long-sought border wall but stopped short of declaring a national emergency over it, at least for now. The speech starts at 2100 ET (0200 GMT).

* Brazilian miner Vale SA on Tuesday declared force majeure on some iron ore contracts after a court-ordered halt to a mine responsible for nearly 9 percent of its output following a dam burst which likely killed more than 300 people.

* The force majeure on some iron ore and pellets sales contracts came after a court on Monday ordered it to stop using eight tailings dams, including one affecting production of about 30 million tonnes of iron ore output per year.

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MARKETS NEWS

* Asian shares started cautiously on Wednesday as investors waited to see if U.S. President Donald Trump drops any hints of progress on tariffs in his State of the Union speech.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany Industrial Orders Dec 1330 US International Trade Nov

PRICES

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