LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Monday, lifted by a strong euro and
encouraging comments from top consumer China that boosted expectations of a
recovery in demand, but persistent concern about the euro zone debt crisis
capped further gains.
London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper ended at $7,495 a
tonne, up from the close of $7,445 on Friday when it rose 1.6 percent, its
biggest one-day gain since July 13, after a better-than-expected U.S. jobs
report.
A seasonally slow period for industrial demand due to summer holidays in the
northern hemisphere is keeping copper volumes in check and prices rangebound
between $7,200 and $7,800 per tonne, where they have been stuck since late May.
In a boost to metals prices, the euro rose against the dollar. A weak dollar
makes commodities priced in the U.S. unit cheaper for holders of other
currencies.
Analysts said prices may be jolted out of this range if China's economy, as
expected, picks up late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter and
if there is no further marked deterioration in the euro zone's finances.
Chinese industrial production for July, alongside retail sales and inflation
data, is due on Thursday. Those figures will be important for the base metals
market because China is the world's top consumer of most industrial metals,
accounting for 40 percent of refined copper demand last year.
"The Chinese data due later this week has the potential to cause a
significant shift in the mood. And relatively low volumes mean that it could get
quite volatile," said Ross Strachan, economist at Capital Economics.
Investors were reassured by the Chinese central bank's pledge on Sunday to
intensify fine-tuning of monetary policy in the second half of this year and to
improve credit policy to bolster the real economy, echoing earlier government
commitments amid an economic slowdown.
Demand from China has been sluggish so far this year. The market is awaiting
signs that appetite for the metal used in power and construction is picking up
there.
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