Forexpros - Copper futures declined during European morning hours on Wednesday, as appetite for growth-linked assets weakened amid fears over the outlook for the global economy, while uncertainty over the timing of a Spanish bailout lingered. Market participants also looked ahead to Friday’s crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls data, as well as the European Central Bank’s forthcoming policy meeting on Thursday. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.783 a pound during European morning trade, shedding 0.5%. Earlier in the day, prices fell by as much as 0.9% to hit a session low of USD3.763 a pound. Copper futures hit a two-week high of USD3.822 a pound on Tuesday. Data released earlier showed that China’s services purchasing managers index fell to 53.7 in September from 56.3 in August, underlining concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in the world’s second largest economy. China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year. Also Wednesday, revised data showed that the euro zone’s service PMI dropped to 46.1 in September, well below the 50.0-level which separates contraction from expansion. Elsewhere, traders continued to focus on developments in Spain after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday ruled out a bailout request before this weekend, despite persistent speculation that Madrid was moving closer to requesting external financial aid. Markets have been anticipating for the past month that the Spanish government would ask for a full-scale sovereign bailout. A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. Meanwhile, ratings agency Moody’s said Tuesday it was still reviewing Spain's finances for a possible credit downgrade. Moody’s said in August its review on Spain’s Baa3 rating would continue through the end of September. A move below Baa3 would drop Spain’s debt into junk. Market participants now looked ahead to Friday’s crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls data, which will allow investors to gauge the strength of the labor market. The Federal Reserve said last month it will purchase USD40 billion of mortgage-backed securities every month until the labor market improves. Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce a report on ADP nonfarm payrolls and the Institute of Supply Management was to produce data on U.S. service sector activity. Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery added 0.3% to trade at USD1,780.65 a troy ounce, while silver for December delivery rose 0.35% to trade at USD34.79 a troy ounce.

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