Forexpros – Copper futures were up for a second day on Wednesday, as market sentiment improved amid hopes that this week’s European Union summit would result in a breakthrough on the region’s two-year-old debt crisis.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery traded at USD3.600 a pound during European morning trade, climbing 0.7%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.95% to trade at a two-day high of USD3.614 a pound.
European leaders were to discuss proposed changes to EU treaties which would allow for greater fiscal integration and stricter enforcement of budgetary discipline in the single currency bloc.
Separately, the Financial Times reported late Tuesday that European policymakers were in talks to potentially double the firepower of the region’s bailout fund.
According to senior European officials, the plan involves allowing the region’s existing EUR440 billion bailout fund, known as the European Financial Stability Facility to continue to operate when a new EUR500 billion facility, the European Stability Mechanism, begins in mid-2012.
Focus on the summit has intensified since ratings agency Standard & Poor’s placed 15 euro zone nations, including AAA-rated Germany and France, on review for credit downgrades due to the region’s deepening financial crisis.
Europe as a region is second after China in global demand for the industrial metal and worries over its economic growth have kept copper prices under pressure in recent months.
Meanwhile, copper traders were awaiting the release of a flurry of Chinese economic data on Friday, which is likely to show further signs of cooling in the world’s second biggest economy.
A senior Chinese official said earlier that the nation’s annual rate of export growth slowed in November. Inflation is also expected to have eased, giving Beijing more room to introduce further monetary easing measures.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for February delivery eased up 0.15% to trade at USD1,734.55 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery shed 0.2% to trade at USD32.67 a troy ounce.
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