Forexpros - Copper futures were lower during European morning trade on Monday, amid concerns the euro zone’s ongoing debt crisis could worsen following weekend elections in France and Greece. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for July delivery traded at USD3.695 a pound during European morning trade, shedding 0.7%. It earlier fell by as much as 0.95% to trade at USD3.667 a pound, the lowest since April 24. Market sentiment was rattled after Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeated French President Nicolas Sarkozy and pro-bailout Greek political parties took a drubbing according to exit polls in from Sunday's parliamentary elections. The weekend election results triggered fresh uncertainty over Europe's ability to tackle its debt crisis. Hollande has recently called for a re-negotiation of Europe’s fiscal pact and its tough budget rules, while no political party won enough votes to form a government in Greece, prompting speculation the debt-strapped country could reject its newly signed aid package. Europe as a region is second in global demand for the industrial metal. Prices have tracked investor sentiment toward the euro zone’s debt crisis in recent months. Adding to the gloomy trade environment was a much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday, which added to uncertainty over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery. The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, the smallest increase in six months and far short of expectations for a 170,000 increase, after adding an upwardly revised 154,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 8.1%, the lowest since January 2009. However, the data showed that the decline stemmed entirely from people dropping out of the labor force. The disappointing data added to fears that the economic recovery in the U.S. is losing momentum after a recent run of disappointing U.S. economic data. Copper is sensitive to the economic growth outlook because of its widespread uses across industries. The industrial metal is regarded as a leading indicator of the global economy. The heightened sense of risk aversion prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and industrial commodities, and flock to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.4% to trade at 79.92, the highest since April 16. A stronger dollar reduces demand for raw materials as an alternative investment and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies. Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for June delivery fell 0.4% to trade at USD1,639.15 a troy ounce, while silver for July delivery slumped 0.6% to trade at USD30.25 a troy ounce.

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