--Comex December copper down 4.55 cents, or 1.3%, at $3.4560/lb --Copper futures decline as dollar rallies against euro --Worries about EU debt damp outlook for copper By Tatyana Shumsky Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Copper futures fell on a stronger dollar and ongoing concerns about the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, was recently down 4.55 cents, or 1.3%, at $3.4560 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Thinly traded November metal was down 3.90 cents, or 1.1%, at $3.4600 a pound. Copper traders kept a watchful eye on the currency markets, as the euro again headed lower against the dollar. The euro was recently trading at $1.3477, compared with $1.3858 at the start of the month. "Gyrations in the Euro have added an extra degree of volatility to copper, with exogenous factors remaining in charge of price direction for the moment," Leon Westgate, a metals analyst with Standard Bank, said in a note to clients. Copper is priced in dollars and seems more expensive to buyers who use other currencies when the greenback rallies. Europe's debt situation remains in the spotlight amid reports that UniCredit's chief executive officer was meeting the European Central Bank to broaden Italian bank access to central bank funding. Italy is the third-largest economy in the currency bloc, and bank liquidity there is a concern for the broader markets. "Copper will be driven by events out of Europe," said Matt Zeman, head of trading at Kingsview Financial, adding that prices are likely to continue trading in a tight range or head lower. As a region, Europe is second behind China in its consumption of copper. The euro-zone's protracted struggle to reign in its debt crisis worries investors as slower economic activity in Europe would dent global demand for the industrial mental. --By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095; tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com

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