RTRS:METALS-LME copper on track to end 6-wk losing streak; Greece eyed
* Central banks ready to act if Greece roils markets
* Weak U.S. data revives monetary easing hopes
* Chinese spot copper demand remains low
(Adds quotes, details, updates prices)
By Carrie Ho
SHANGHAI, June 15 (Reuters) - London copper climbed more
than 1 percent on Friday and is on track to post its first
weekly rise in seven weeks, buoyed by central banks' efforts to
inject liquidity should the results of weekend elections in
Greece unleash havoc in financial markets.
Another set of weak U.S. economic data also raised hopes the
Federal Reserve would be more open to support a slowing economy,
helping revive interest in riskier assets from commodities to
equities.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose
1.1 percent to $7,498 a tonne by 0758 GMT, up for a second
straight day, and up nearly 3 percent for the week so far.
The most-active September copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange gained 1.8 percent to close at 55,070
yuan ($8,600) a tonne. It rose more than 3 percent for the week.
"There are lots of short-covering today as sentiment
improved over the euro zone, but uncertainty remains ahead of
the Greek elections," said a Shanghai-based trader.
Central banks from major economies stand ready to take steps
to stabilize financial markets by providing liquidity and
preventing a credit squeeze if it looks like Greece could leave
the euro zone if the anti-bailout camp triumphs at the
elections, G20 officials told Reuters.
The central bank preparations, along with hopes that the
U.S. Federal Reserve could be tempted to ease monetary policy
further after data on Thursday showed jobless benefits claims
rising for the fifth time in six weeks and consumer prices
falling in May, also lifted global shares.
TWIDDLING THUMBS
In China, the world's biggest copper user, efforts may be
underway to roll out more policies to stimulate growth,
including more interest rate cuts, although a costly stimulus
budget may not be on the cards.
China's spot copper demand has improved from previous
months, but remained at low levels, traders said.
"There's nothing much happening lately. No one really wants
to buy and no one really wants to sell. We are twiddling thumbs
here," said a Shanghai-based physical trader.
Most buyers are staying away due to uncertainties in the
euro zone, which may crimp global demand for industrial metals
and Chinese exports.
But at the same time, holders of copper stocks are also
reluctant to sell at a time when prices are too low.
Copper has fallen more than 14 percent from its 2012 peak of
$8,765 touched in February.
Also deterring producers from selling are the low spot
treatment and refining charges (TC/RC), or fees paid by miners
to smelters to turn their concentrate into refined metal.
"Spot copper TC/RC in Shanghai has been hovering around
$30-$40 per tonne and 3-4 cents per lb for a few months now. It
is extremely low and smelters' profits are squeezed by this
along with lower refined copper prices. They have less incentive
to sell now," the physical trader said.
Base metals prices at 0758 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg
LME Cu 7498.00 78.00 +1.05 -1.34
SHFE CU FUT SEP2 55070 980 +1.81 -0.52
HG COPPER JUL2 338.50 3.05 +0.91 -1.48
LME Alum 1955.25 1.25 +0.06 -3.21
SHFE AL FUT OCT2 15880 20 +0.13 0.22
LME Zinc 1893.25 1.25 +0.07 2.62
SHFE ZN FUT SEP2 14910 140 +0.95 0.78
LME Nickel 16758.00 123.00 +0.74 -10.43
LME Lead 1929.50 9.50 +0.49 -5.18
SHFE PB FUT 15100.00 130.00 +0.87 -1.21
LME Tin 19620.00 -5.00 -0.03 2.19
LME/Shanghai arb^ 548
Shanghai and COMEX contracts show most active months
^ LME 3-month copper in yuan, including 17 pct VAT, minus SHFE third month
