Forexpros - Copper futures were higher during European morning trade on Monday, boosted by hopers for near-term easing measures in China, but the metal continued to trade close to last week’s four month low as concerns over the deepening crisis in the euro zone remained. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for July delivery traded at USD3.502 a pound during European morning trade, gaining 1%. It earlier rose by as much as 1.9% to trade at USD3.520 a pound. Prices touched USD3.431 a pound on May 18, the lowest since January 10. Copper prices found support after comments made over the weekend from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo raised hopes for near-term easing from Beijing. Wen called for "putting stabilizing growth in a more important position," with no mention of inflation. Analysts at Bank of America said in a report earlier that the change in language Premier Wen used from that used in March “suggest that the Chinese government now is seriously concerned about growth and is ready to introduce further measures to bolster growth.� His comments were followed by a report in the state-run China Securities Journal, saying that China may announce stimulus actions in the near future. China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year. Fears over a slowdown in copper demand from the Asian nation have been weighing on prices lately. Meanwhile, markets remained jittery after the leaders of the Group of Eight major economies failed to reach an agreement on how to calm market turmoil stemming from the crisis in the euro zone. However, in a statement leaders indicated that they do want Greece to remain in the euro area and pledged to take measures to bolster their economies. Investors were eyeing a first meeting between German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his newly installed French counterpart, Pierre Moscovici, in Berlin later Monday, as European Union leaders were preparing for a summit in Brussels on May 23. Copper futures were rattled last week, falling to the lowest level since early January, as speculation over the possibility of a Greek exit from the euro zone intensified after talks aimed at forming a coalition government failed. The June copper contract has lost nearly 10.5% since the start of May. Europe as a region is second in global demand for the industrial metal. Prices have tracked investor sentiment toward the euro zone’s debt crisis in recent months. Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for June delivery was flat to trade at USD1,592.05 a troy ounce, while silver for July delivery fell 0.9% to trade at USD28.45 a troy ounce.

Source