(Reuters) - London copper fell to a 4-month low on Wednesday, extending losses to a fourth consecutive session, as investors continued to shy away from risky assets with the Greek political malaise threatening to plunge Europe into a deeper financial mess. Shanghai copper fell to its lowest since the end of December, under pressure from both the political crisis in Athens and concerns of a further slowdown in the Chinese economy. The dollar hit a four-month high against a basket of currencies at the expense of a weaker euro, weighing on dollar-priced commodities as it makes them more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. "There is more room on the downside for copper in the next few weeks, while we wait for China data to be released in mid-June and any consequential easing acts from the central bank," said Judy Zhu, an analyst at Standard Chartered in Shanghai. Zhu said June could be a turning point for base metals if more easing measures are deployed to boost growth. But the world's biggest miner BHP Billiton (BLT.L) said it expects commodity markets to cool further and that investors have lost confidence in the longer-term health of the global economy. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slid 1.6 percent to $7,633.5, before recovering slightly to $7,639.25 per tonne by 3:03 a.m. EDT. The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell to as low as 54,660 yuan per tonne, before closing the day down 2.2 percent to 54,690 yuan. The factors supporting commodities and equities in previous months, namely prospects of more U.S. monetary easing and receding worries about the euro zone debt crisis, have largely vanished, with a flare-up in the Greek political crisis and China growth concerns taking the centre stage in recent weeks. "With bullish factors gone and bearish factors prominent, it would be a miracle if prices don't fall," a trader said. The tightness in global physical copper market appeared to have eased, with the spot-to-three-month premium on London copper dropping to a one-month low of $33 on Tuesday, off 70 percent from last week's peak of $111. Meanwhile, Shanghai's front-month contract had a premium of 660 yuan over the most-active August contract, though copper demand has been disappointing in recent months. "People aren't willing to sell on the physical market when prices drop fast, so we are seeing some premium in spot prices," said Zhou Jie, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures. "So long as we don't see a shift in policy, the sluggish trend in prices is not going to change." In other news, NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) is out of the race to buy the London Metal Exchange, a spokesman said on Tuesday, after its reported 800 million pound (US$1.28 billion) bid was deemed too low.

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