* Eurozone private sector slump deepens in April, euro falls * Budget crisis erupts in Netherlands, French socialist presidential candidate takes lead * HSBC China flash April PMI beats March number, but still under 50 By Maytaal Angel LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Copper fell more than 1 percent on Monday as factory activity readings in Europe plunged while political developments in France and the Netherlands raised fears about the region's ability to tackle its debt crisis. The developments more than offset China's HSBC flash Purchasing Manager Index (PMI), which showed industrial activity picked up in April from March, though stayed under 50, which signifies contracting economic activity. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.63 percent to $8,056.75 a tonne by 1000 GMT. The red metal ended last week up 2.5 percent, its best weekly gain since late Feb. "What's really weighing on sentiment is the situation in Europe," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. "Although there are signs of cautious buying emerging in China, it's still too early to call a bottom because fears in the euro zone are so strong it pays to wait." French President Nicolas Sarkozy came second to Socialist challenger Francois Hollande in the first round of the presidential elections on Monday, and a budget crisis erupted in the Netherlands that could bring down the government. The developments weighed on global shares and sent the euro down from last week's two-week peak against the dollar, making dollar-priced metals more costly for European investors. Also knocking risk appetite, the euro zone's private sector slump deepened in April at a faster pace than any economist polled by Reuters predicted, dampening hopes the region will emerge from recession soon. ID:nL9E7GA00G] Against this background, a modest improvement in factory activity in China was overlooked by investors, especially with other data points showing China's refined copper imports fell some 30,000 tonnes to 345,667 in March. "Although the Chinese PMI numbers showed the country's industrial activity improving from March, overall sentiment is still cautious. Chinese copper demand remains soft," said Orient Futures derivatives director Andy Du. BRIGHT SPOT One bright spot for copper though was LME data which showed stocks fell 2,300 tonnes to 258,850, with cancelled warrants - material booked to leave warehouses - shooting up by 44,425 tonnes, equivalent to 40 percent of available stock. Also, fears about Europe's economic health had also prompted leading world economies to pledge on Friday $430 billion in new funding for the International Monetary Fund, more than doubling its lending power in a bid to protect the global economy. In other metals traded, soldering metal tin edged up 0.47 percent to $21,600 a tonne, while stainless-steel ingredient nickel, the worst performer on the base metals complex this year, fell 0.76 percent to $17,669. "At current levels (for nickel) it remains to be seen whether the oversupply will be as high as feared. (There's) the export ban in Indonesia and very low pig iron supplies in China," said Weinberg. Zinc, used in galvanizing dropped 1.35 percent to $1,998.75, battery material lead fell 1.72 percent to $2,089, while aluminium declined 1.14 percent to $2,060.25. Metal Prices at 1000 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 363.55 -6.25 -1.69 334.65 8.64 LME Alum 2095.00 11.00 +0.53 2230.00 -6.05 LME Cu 8240.00 50.00 +0.61 7375.00 11.73 LME Lead 2045.00 -80.50 -3.79 2432.00 -15.91 LME Nickel 18800.00 995.00 +5.59 18525.00 1.48 LME Tin 21500.00 125.00 +0.58 16950.00 26.84 LME Zinc 1980.00 -46.00 -2.27 2560.00 -22.66 SHFE Alu 16090.00 10.00 +0.06 17160.00 -6.24 SHFE Cu* 57330.00 -420.00 -0.73 59900.00 -4.29 SHFE Zin 15480.00 -40.00 -0.26 21195.00 -26.96 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07

Source