Reuters reported that European metal products manufacturers are seeing the most favourable conditions for buying copper in over two years as prices drop and the euro strengthens and some are buying forwards to lock in cheap supply. Copper had been in freefall for three straight sessions, touching its lowest level in more than three years on worries that financing deals that have locked up vast quantities of metal in China could unravel. At the same time the euro is near a 2-1/2 year high against the dollar, the currency used to price metals. Robin Bhar analyst of Societe Generale said that "For European consumers, they have a double whammy in their favour. This is the first time copper has been at these lows at the same time the euro is at its highs. Some of the car manufacturers are buying, because it is so attractive in euro terms." Companies that use copper to make electrical wiring, roofing, plumbing fixtures and industrial machinery have been using the forwards market to lock in supplies for 2016, 2017 and even 2018 at prices below EUR 5,000 per tonne. In euro terms, three month copper futures were trading at around EUR 4,645 per tonne after hitting their lowest since early 2010 at around EUR 4,600 on Wednesday. The March 2017 copper contract dropped to EUR 4,800 on Thursday, compared with around EUR 5,338 in early January.

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