July 2 (Reuters) - Copper prices climbed on Tuesday, as

stocks withdrawals in South Korea relieved some oversupply

pressure, although manufacturing activity contracted at some

companies in top consumer China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)

rose 0.3% to $9,655.50 per metric ton by 0341 GMT, while

the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures

Exchange (SHFE) advanced 0.5% to 78,720 yuan

($10,826.42) a ton.

At the LME Gwangyang warehouse in South Korea, 8,000 tons of

fresh cancellations in LME copper warehouses signalled inventory

might fall soon. Meanwhile, the discount to import copper into

China also tightened, suggesting improving appetite for the

metal. .

Analysts have said physical copper demand in China has been

picking up and will likely improve further in July, after prices

dropped some $1,500 since hitting a record high in May and

stabilised around this level for the past two weeks.

Data from China showed a mixed picture. Manufacturing

activity fell for a second month in June, according to an

official survey. But a private survey covering smaller,

export-oriented firms showed factory activity grew at the

fastest pace in more than three years.

Market participants are awaiting China's July 15-18 plenum

to see if there will be more stimulus measures that could boost

metals demand.

LME aluminium increased 0.1% to $2,518 a ton, nickel

rose 0.5% to $17,450, zinc increased 0.3% to

$2,936.50, lead was nearly flat at $2,219 and tin

fell 0.4% to $32,755.

SHFE aluminium edged up 0.3% to 20,355 yuan a ton,

nickel jumped 0.9% to 137,450 yuan, lead

climbed 1% to 19,760 yuan, while zinc eased 0.2% to

24,430 yuan and tin declined 0.2% to 273,680 yuan.

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($1 = 7.2711 yuan)

(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)