* Cyprus has till Monday to raise funds to secure bailout * LME copper stocks hit highest in nearly ten years * German business morale records first fall in four months By Maytaal Angel LONDON, (Reuters) - Copper rose on Friday, helped by bargain hunting and some consumer buying in China and beyond, but the metal was set for its biggest weekly loss in four as Cyprus scrambled to avoid a banking system meltdown. The European Union gave Cyprus until Monday to raise the billions of euros it needs to secure an international bailout or face a collapse of its financial system that could push it out of the euro currency zone. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.75 percent to $7,637 a tonne by 0936 GMT, reversing losses from the previous session, when it fell half a percent. Copper prices are headed for a drop of 1.5 percent this week, in the biggest decline since late February. Prices are recovering from a seven-month trough at $7,486.25 a tonne hit on Tuesday, but are still down around four percent on the year. "We've seen consumer buying not just in China but also Europe and the U.S., but I don't see consumers having need to chase prices really, inventories are rising everywhere and mine supply is picking up strongly," said Citi analyst David Wilson. "We're getting close to more fundamentally justified prices for lot of metals. You're going to continue to see copper inventory rise this year." Copper prices fell to seven-month lows this week, triggering some restocking by Chinese consumers, but concerns over euro zone contagion have eclipsed signs of improving demand, both from top consumer China and in the U.S. housing market. "It's fairly apparent people aren't making the orders they need to for a resumption in demand. The right outlook for copper is neutral to bearish. The market focuses on what is happening in Europe," said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Barratt's Bulletin, a Sydney-based commodity research firm. Data showed German business morale fell in March, breaking a four-month run of gains, as Cyprus troubles reignited concerns the euro zone debt crisis could weigh on Europe's largest economy. Economic malaise in the euro zone deepened in March even before Cyprus ran into debt trouble, but manufacturing in the United States and China improved, surveys showed on Thursday. A preliminary survey of factory managers showed solid first-quarter growth in China, while in the U.S., data showed jobless claims trending lower and factory activity and homes sales both on the rise. COPPER STOCKS SWELL Still, LME copper stocks have climbed to their highest in nearly 10 years, the latest data showed, rising 5,025 tonnes to 562,475 tonnes, which is the highest since October 2003. LME inventories have more than doubled since the start of December, in part because Chinese smelters have exported more of their record domestic stockpiles, helped by a change last year in export rules. China exported 64,781 tonnes of copper in the first two months of this year, almost a quarter of last year's total. Exports in 2012 grew 75 percent from the year before. Soldering metal tin rose 0.69 percent to $22,750 a tonne, while zinc, used in galvanizing, fell 0.12 percent to $1,931.50 a tonne. Battery material lead rose 0.09 percent to $2,174.50 a tonne, aluminium fell 0.05 percent to $1,927 a tonne, while stainless-steel ingredient nickel fell 0.11 percent to $16,876 a tonne. Metal Prices at 0940 GMT Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2009 Ytd Pct move COMEX Cu 343.00 0.50 +0.15 334.65 2.50 LME Alum 1928.00 0.00 +0.00 2230.00 -13.54 LME Cu 7580.00 -40.00 -0.52 7375.00 2.78 LME Lead 2172.00 -0.50 -0.02 2432.00 -10.69 LME Nickel 16890.00 -5.00 -0.03 18525.00 -8.83 LME Tin 22590.00 -5.00 -0.02 16950.00 33.27 LME Zinc 1933.00 -1.00 -0.05 2560.00 -24.49 SHFE Alu 14700.00 -45.00 -0.31 17160.00 -14.34 SHFE Cu* 55650.00 -380.00 -0.68 59900.00 -7.10 SHFE Zin 14950.00 -60.00 -0.40 21195.00 -29.46 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07

Source