* Investors still bet on Greece passing austerity bill
* Opponent of the Greek austerity bill backtracks, boosting sentiment
* Data shows continued post-disaster recovery in Japan
* Coming up: Eurozone business climate, econ sentiment, June; 0900 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes and details)
By Carrie Ho
SHANGHAI, June 29 (Reuters) - LME Copper steadied on Wednesday as investors continued to bet that the Greek parliament will pass an unpopular austerity plan later in the day and bring respite from worries that a sovereign default by the country would affect other debt-laden euro zone nations and roil global markets.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ticked up 0.4 percent to $9,109.25 a tonne by 0701 GMT after it rose 1.1 percent in the previous session.
"We are seeing prices of most commodities lifted across the board as optimism over Greece comes to a head on the back of the expected vote that the austerity program will be put through. The U.S. dollar is slightly weaker as well," managing director of Commodity Broking Services Jonathan Barratt said.
The most-active September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed nearly 1.4 percent higher at 68,080 yuan per tonne.
"Shanghai copper is less sensitive to international developments and continues its technical rebound within a range of 66,800 to 68,300 yuan," said Minmetals Futures Co analyst Yu Ye.
"There is no sign of a turning point that can propel it to a higher range even though fundamentally, demand in China remains steady. In the short-term, I see Shanghai copper moving to the upper portion of the range," she added.
Prospects that Greece would pass an austerity package needed to avoid sovereign default improved on Tuesday when a key deputy of embattled Prime Minister George Papandreou added his support.
A deputy from Papandreou's ruling Socialist party backtracked and said he would support the five-year plan of budget cuts, tax rises and privatization, vital for Greece to win EU/IMF funds in July needed to pay its debts on time.
But the bill remains deeply unpopular. Greek riot police with teargas and batons fought hooded youths near parliament on Tuesday as violence broke out at an anti-austerity rally.
Hopes that Greece would pass the austerity plan pushed Asian shares higher, with Tokyo stocks hitting a seven-week high, and the euro steady on Wednesday.
U.S. data on Tuesday were mixed: home prices showed signs of leveling off in April but worries about unemployment pushed consumer confidence to a seven-month low in June.
Japan's industrial output jumped 5.7 percent in May, rising at a much faster pace than in the previous month, government data showed on Wednesday, as companies make steady progress in restoring supply chains hit by the devastating earthquake in March.
Data on Wednesday showed that Japanese refined copper exports to China inched up 0.8 percent in May from April, with China's share improving to 36 percent from 29 percent in April.
But the May total export figure plunged 52 percent to 23,764 tonnes from a year ago, an eighth straight month of year-on-year declines.
Japan's refined zinc exports for May fell 32 percent from a year earlier to 5,905 tonnes, narrowing from April's year-on-year drop of 40 percent, finance ministry data showed on Wednesday, partly reflecting a recovery in production.
Base metals prices at 0701 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 9109.25 36.75 +0.41 -5.11
SHFE CU FUT SEP1 68080 910 +1.35 -5.25
LME Alum 2528.00 8.00 +0.32 2.35
SHFE AL FUT SEP1 17100 55 +0.32 1.54
HG COPPER JUL1 411.75 2.55 +0.62 -7.25
LME Zinc 2274.25 -0.75 -0.03 -7.32
SHFE ZN FUT SEP1 17475 115 +0.66 -10.27
LME Nickel 22865.00 185.00 +0.82 -7.62
LME Lead 2594.00 9.00 +0.35 1.73
SHFE PB FUT 16975 45 +0.27 -7.85
LME Tin 25375.00 0.00 +0.00 -5.67
LME/Shanghai arb 811
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
^ LME 3-m copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE
third month
Shanghai lead launched on March 24
(Editing by Ed Lane)
Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL3E7HT06O20110629
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