Jiangxi Copper Co, China's largest copper producer, told Reuters that its mines had only scattered interruptions and operation was back to normal levels.

"We heard some producers were asking longer grace periods for shipments," said a trader, who noted that the heavy rains that drenched central China had affected the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui, where major copper mines and smelters are located.

Another trader said producers tended to play down problems in time of natural disaster to avoid spreading panic.

"Anyone, who has been to a mine, knows that once it's flooded, resuming production takes time," he said.

Yu Hao, senior analyst at Hengyin Futures, said copper futures on the Shanghai Metal Exchange had already shown greater resistance to the down side in August on expectations of tightening supplies in the third quarter.

The floods could further cut copper 1998 output in addition to the 160,000-tonne reduction announced by producers last month, he said.Analysts generally did not expect the floods to exert a strong stimulus on copper demand in post-disaster reconstruction.

"Copper is used mainly for cable," said Yan Zheng, president of Shanghai Colub Consultants. "Other than the rural electrification projects already approved by the State Council, which would proceed even without the floods, we don't see huge extra demand."

Any mild gains in copper usage for reconstruction would be offset by the general slowdown in industrial activity, he said.

Soft demand for copper was reflected in the unrelenting rise of copper stocks in the Shanghai Metal Exchange warehouses, which reached a record 82,723 tonnes as of last Friday. Yan said copper demand was not simply a domestic issue.

"The pressure from neighbouring countries, especially weak demand in Japan, contributes directly to the rise in warehouse stocks," he said.