LONDON July 21 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose 0.5 percent
in Europe on Wednesday, supported by inventory drawdowns, and as
rising stock markets boosted interest in assets seen as higher
risk, like industrial commodities.
European shares rose at the open, following on from a
positive session in Asia as investors cheered Apple's strong
earnings and on optimism that China may roll back policy
tightening measures later this year. [MKTS/GLOB]
"Metals are more or less driven at the moment by equity
markets, I would say," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel
Briesemann. "We have seen a somewhat weaker dollar over the last
couple of days, and that will have helped as well."
"We have seen, especially in copper, significant inventory
decreases," he added. "This should give some support."
The copper market shrugged off data from China showing a
hefty drop in refined copper imports in June, as the number was
in line with expectations, analysts said.
PRICES
* Three-month copper MCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was
trading at $6,660 a tonne at 0708 GMT compared with $6,637 at
the close on Tuesday.
* Aluminium MAL3 was at $1,976 a tonne from $1,971.
DATA/EVENTS
* U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivers
semiannual testimony on the economy and monetary policy before
the Senate Banking Committee, 1800 GMT.
* Bank of England publishes minutes of July 7-8 Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, 0830 GMT.
[ECI/US] [ECI/EURO] [ECI/GB]
[M/DIARY] [MTL/DIARY]
MARKET NEWS
* The euro inched up against the dollar, after being knocked
from a 10-week high above $1.3000 the previous day due to
profit-taking ahead of euro zone bank stress test results this
week. [FRX/]
* Oil held steady below $78 a barrel as rising stock markets
and a forming Atlantic storm countered mixed U.S. inventories
and disappointing housing data. [O/R]
* Asian stocks climbed as investors cheered Apple's strong
earnings and on optimism that China may roll back policy
tightening measures later this year. [MKTS/GLOB]
* European shares rose at the open on Wednesday as
investors' confidence was bolstered by strong earnings from
Apple and gains overnight in Asia and on Wall Street. [.EU]
FUNDAMENTALS
* China's refined copper imports fell 44.1 percent year on
year in June to 211,957 tonnes, official customs figures showed,
and are down nearly 13 percent in 2010 to date. [ID:nBJL002049]
* BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote)(BLT.L: Quote), the world's biggest miner,
reported a 16 percent jump in quarterly iron ore output on
Wednesday, taking annual production to a record, but cautioned
over uncertainties surrounding the short-term outlook for
commodities markets. [ID:nSGE66J0K4]
TECHNICALS
* Copper support at $6,425, resistance at $6,690, 14-day RSI
at 55.0.
* Aluminium support at $1,945, resistance at $2,033, 14-day
RSI at 51.2.
* LME aluminium could consolidate between $1,962 and $1,995
per tonne for a trading session before returning to a high at
$2,029.75, as an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern may form on
Wednesday, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
* LME copper MCU3=LX continues to be trendless as it
fluctuates within a narrow range between $6,500 and $6,750 per
tonne. [ID:nSGE66K01W]
For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets:
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LME copper <0#MCU:> Asia physicals COMEX copper futures <0#HG:> Europe physicals Scrap metal prices BASEU3 LME plastics RELATED NEWS AND OTHER TOPICS
Base/minor metals news [MET] All metals news [MTL]
Metals summary [GLANCE/MTL] Scrap metals news [SCRAP/EUR]
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Metals diary [MTL/DIARY] Weather news [WEA]
Foreign exchange rates FX=S
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(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Alison Birrane)
