FTSE 100 pares losses on UK GDP relief

* FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent

* UK banks higher on bargain-hunting

* Antofagasta lifted by broker upgrade

By Tricia Wright

LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index pared its losses on Wednesday on investor relief that there was no deterioration in UK gross domestic product (GDP) figures, having earlier flirted with a key technical level in a bearish sign for the index.

By 1125 GMT, the FTSE 100 <.ftse> was off 3.04 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,855.37, well clear of its session low of 5,810.46, after the Office for National Statistics left its preliminary growth estimates for first-quarter UK GDP unrevised at +0.5 percent. [ID:nLDE74O0RV]

"If we close above 5,800 (the 200-day moving average) I think we're okay; if we close below it then it could well mean that we're going to test the next level of support really, around 5,650 (Japan crisis levels)," Ed Woolfitt, head of trading at Galvan Research, said.

"I think the main weight on this market at the moment and what's creating a bit of skittish trading is obviously the euro debt uncertainty and also a lot of uncertainty surrounding the state-backed UK banks, RBS and Lloyds."

UK banks came under pressure on Tuesday after credit rating agency Moody's said it might cut its rating on 14 British financial groups, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group .

But the sector staged a recovery, led by a 1.4-percent advance from Barclays , while RBS and Lloyds climbed 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

MINERS SUPPORT

Gains were seen among the miners <.ftnmx1770> as copper rose, supported by positive comment on the metal from Goldman Sachs on Tuesday.

Antofagasta was the star blue-chip performer, up 2 percent, with traders citing the impact of an upgrade in rating of the Chilean copper miner by Morgan Stanley to "equal-weight from "underweight" on valuation grounds.

Commodities trader Glencore fell 0.7 percent as the recently floated firm made its debut in the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday following the start of unconditional trading in the stock on Tuesday, to replace Invensys .

Oil was the worst performing blue chip sector, as the crude price slipped 0.1 percent, hurt by a firmer dollar.

Among individual movers, Vodafone shed 0.2 percent after Nomura cut its rating on the mobile telecoms firm to "neutral".

Private equity firm 3i Group was helped 1.5 percent higher as Evolution Securities lifted its rating for the stock to "buy", while Rexam firmed 1.5 percent after Credit Suisse hiked its target price for the drinks can maker.

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Ex-dividend factors accounted for the top three FTSE 100 fallers, with Next , International Power and Amec all losing their payout attractions.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, ahead of April U.S. durable goods orders, due at 1230 GMT.

"You've got a battle taking place. On one side you've got the big macro uncertainties that are out there; the European sovereign debt crisis, the threat of inflation potentially... and the high oil price," Henk Potts, market strategist at Barclays Wealth, said.

"That's kind of overshadowing the strong corporate reporting season. But long-term fundamentals still look very positive." (Additional reporting by Jon Hopkins; Editing by Louise Heavens)