* Metals up on positive Chinese output numbers
* U.S. supply worries also lift oil to 1-month high
* Yuan at highest since unpegging in 2005
(Adds quotes, updates prices, previous SINGAPORE)
By Veronica Brown
LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Upbeat economic data from commodity consuming giant China boosted key raw materials copper and oil on Monday, while capital protection vehicle gold eased as attitudes towards risk brightened.
Oil hit a one-month high at $77.50 a barrel, with dealers also citing an extended shutdown of a major Canada-U.S. crude pipeline. Copper gained nearly 2 percent to $7,628.50 a tonne.
Industrial production in China ramped up and money growth exceeded expectations in August, showing buoyant economic growth despite government efforts to clamp down on bank lending and property speculation.
Inflation, though at a 22-month peak, is unlikely to trigger an immediate interest rate hike, analysts said, as higher food costs were expected to be transitory after a spell of bad weather hit the country in the summer.
"The Chinese data was instrumental, especially as the market had also heard rumours the Chinese were to hike interest rates," Commerzbank commodities analyst Eugen Weinburg said.
"It didn't happen, so for the time being the rally may go on because the opportunity cost for holding commodities is quite cheap," he added.
Also helping boost Chinese appetite for imported commodities, the yuan hit 6.7590 against the dollar, its highest since the landmark July 2005 revaluation.
The continued closure of a pipeline connecting Canadian production with refineries in the Midwest and the pricing hub for U.S. benchmark WTI crude, due to a leak, helped drive the oil market to its highest since Aug. 12.
Canada's Enbridge said early on Monday that it did not know when its pipeline would restart.
"On Enbridge, it clearly shows in the impact on the spread between WTI and Brent ... it's a big shrinking in the spread," Christophe Barret, oil analyst at Credit Agricole, said.
Brent posted a premium of more than $3.50 a barrel to U.S. crude last week, its highest since mid-May, but that had shrunk to $1.20 on Monday.
METALS BOOST
Base metal markets took their cue entirely from the Chinese data, which analysts saw as boosting demand prospects and over-shadowing concerns on outlooks in Western economies.
"The Chinese have engineered a gentle slowdown, China might suffer a bit from weaker export demand but there's enough domestic demand to sustain growth at very strong rates," David Thurtell, analyst at Citigroup, said.
Also boosting copper, China's refined copper production inched down 0.3 percent on the month in August, a second straight fall from a June peak as raw materials supplies fell.
Gold, seen as insurance against uncertainty elsewhere, was little changed in European trade, facing a struggle to gain momentum as improved risk appetite damped fervour for the metal.
Adding to confidence in the investment community was a deal at the weekend on global bank rules that gave lenders more time than analysts had originally expected to increase their capital to protect against any future potential credit crunches.
Spot gold was quoted at $1,245.55 per ounce, broadly flat on the day, although prices were still just around $20 away from June's record high hit at $1,264.90.
"We obviously are at a bit of a crucial point here, when we have these big moves and we get the rejection (of the high), we do need to look for support to return fairly quickly in order not to see that correction become any deeper," Ole Hansen, senior manager at Saxo Bank, said.
In agriculture, U.S. corn futures held near their highest in almost two years, following strong gains at the end of last week after a U.S. government report pointed to tightening U.S. supplies, reflecting the uncertain outlook for crops in the Midwest.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn rose 0.5 percent to $4.80-3/4 per bushel, after gaining 1.7 percent on Friday when it struck $4.79-1/2, the highest for the second month on a continuation basis since the start of the fourth quarter of 2008.
(Additional reporting by Nick Trevethan in Singapore, Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Amanda Cooper in London, editing by William Hardy)