SINGAPORE: London copper jumped more than 2 percent on Friday and appeared on course for its best day in four months, backed by more confidence in the global economy as central banks moved to stimulate growth which would boost demand for industrial metals. The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time in 10 months on Thursday, a day after the US Federal Reserve committed to continue its $85-billion monthly bond-buying program to bolster growth. In a bid to spur lending, the ECB said it was also "technically ready" to cut its deposit rate from the current zero percent into negative territory, meaning it would start charging banks for holding their money overnight. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 2.6 percent at $7,027 a tonne by 0711 GMT, and was on track for its biggest daily gain since early January. The metal is nearly flat for the week. The benchmark August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 3.2 percent higher at 51,190 yuan ($8,300) a tonne. Also buoyed by a weaker dollar, copper led gains across the base metals complex, and rose in tandem with Asian equities following the ECB's latest move. But analysts and traders are wary of whether the price gains will be sustainable. "It's encouraging that central banks are willing and able to provide the liquidity needed to get out of the slump but by and large people are still worried about the message behind them, that growth is not satisfactory," said Sijin Cheng, commodities analyst at Barclays Capital. If copper fails to rise beyond $7,500, a level last seen in early April, it could come back down again, said a trader in Singapore.

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