Copper above $7,000 as ECB easing hopes spark short covering

SINGAPORE, Apr 25:  London copper held steady above the $7,000 mark on Thursday, keeping its 2-percent gain from the day before after a stream of poor economic indicators in Europe raised hopes for easier monetary policy, prompting shorts to rush for cover.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange  had edged up 0.11 percent to $7,037 a tonne by 0107 GMT, adding to gains from the previous day when it snapped a three-session losing streak to close up by 2.3 percent.
* London copper has consolidated since hitting a year and a half low at $6,762.25 a tonne on Tuesday but is still down more than 11 percent for the year.
* The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.74 percent to 50,820 yuan ($8,200) a tonne.
* German business sentiment in April was worse than the  most pessimistic of forecasts, falling for the second consecutive month as Europe’s largest economy was undermined by both its euro zone and Chinese export markets.
* ECB policymakers rebuffed suggestions that Europe  should ease up on austerity and said that while the central bank has room to cut interest rates, such a move would not necessarily help the economy much.
* Orders for long-lasting U.S. Manufactured goods  recorded their biggest drop in seven months in March and a gauge of planned business spending rose only modestly, the latest signs of a slowdown in economic activity.
* Russia’s Norilsk Nickel , the world’s largest nickel and palladium producer, may suspend operations at its Tati Nickel mine in Botswana after a sharp drop in metal prices, a company document showed on Wednesday.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares edged higher on Thursday, supported by  views that the recent run of weak global economic data will encourage major central banks to keep or deepen their monetary stimulus to bolster growth.
* The euro was steady from late U.S. Levels, fetching $1.3018, remaining well off a two and a half week low of $1.2954 hit overnight after the Munich-based Ifo think tank’s survey of German business sentiment showed its second straight monthly drop in April.

(AGENCIES)

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