Sept 24 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell on Thursday as lackluster data from the United States and Europe raised doubts over a sustained recovery in the coronavirus-hit global economy.

Euro zone business growth ground to a halt this month as fresh COVID-19 restrictions hurt the services industry, while business activity in the United States, the world's biggest economy, also cooled in September.

Copper is often used as a gauge of global economic health.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.5% to $6,571 a tonne by 0144 GMT, while the most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 1.7% to 50,700 yuan ($7,441.33) a tonne.

FUNDAMENTALS

* China remained a net importer of aluminium for a second consecutive month, with August imports surging eightfold from a year earlier as traders took advantage of lower overseas prices.

* ShFE aluminium hit its lowest since July 17 at 13,760 yuan a tonne, while zinc fell 1.7% to 19,310 yuan a tonne and tin dropped 2.8% to 141,610 yuan a tonne.

* LME nickel fell 0.9% to $14,305 a tonne and tin dropped 1.4% to $17,605 a tonne.

* The global nickel market surplus narrowed to 8,900 tonnes in July from an upwardly revised 14,700 tonnes the previous month, the International Nickel Study Group said on Wednesday.

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MARKETS NEWS

* Asian stocks opened lower, tracking a sharply lower Wall Street session amid fresh concerns that the global economic recovery is running out of steam.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0645 France Business Climate Mfg Sept

0800 Germany Ifo Business Climate New Sept

0800 Germany Ifo Curr Conditions New Sept

0800 Germany Ifo Expectations New Sept

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly

1400 US New Home Sales-Units Aug

($1 = 6.8133 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Devika Syamnath)