Investing.com - Copper futures were little changed near last week’s one-month high during European morning hours on Monday, as growing concerns over a sharp slowdown in Chinese economic growth countered expectations for more action from central banks.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.492 a pound during European morning trade, easing up 0.1%.
Earlier in the day, prices rose by as much as 0.65% to trade at a session high of USD3.511 a pound. Prices touched USD3.512 a pound last Thursday, the highest since July 20.
Copper prices have rallied in recent weeks, climbing nearly 7% since August 2, amid growing hopes policymakers in the U.S., Europe and China will introduce fresh easing measures to prop up their respective economies.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional oversight panel on Friday that the U.S. central bank has room to deliver additional monetary easing to stimulate growth in the U.S. economy.
Market players looked ahead to a speech by Bernanke at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at the end of the week, amid ongoing speculation over how close the U.S. central bank is to implementing more stimulus measures.
He has used the event the previous two years to flag the Fed's intention on more easing.
Growing expectations that the European Central Bank will implement policy measures to help stabilize the euro zone's sovereign debt markets at its next policy meeting in early September further supported the market.
ECB President Mario Draghi will speak at Jackson Hole on Saturday.
Gains were limited as concerns the euro zone’s debt crisis is worsening were underlined Friday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected Greek pleas for an extension to its economic reform program.
Meanwhile, industry data showed earlier that German business confidence deteriorated for the fourth consecutive month to hit the lowest level since March 2010 in August.
The German research institute, Ifo said its Business Climate Index fell by 0.9 point to a seasonally adjusted 102.3 in August from a reading of 103.2 in July, whose figure was revised from 103.3.
Analysts had expected the index to ease down by 0.6 points to 102.6 in August.
Data showing profits at Chinese industrial companies fell for a fourth month in July further weighed. Income dropped 5.4% last month from a year earlier to CNY366.8 billion.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for October delivery eased down 0.05% to trade at USD1,669.85 a troy ounce, while silver for December delivery rose 0.75% to trade at USD30.94 a troy ounce.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.492 a pound during European morning trade, easing up 0.1%.
Earlier in the day, prices rose by as much as 0.65% to trade at a session high of USD3.511 a pound. Prices touched USD3.512 a pound last Thursday, the highest since July 20.
Copper prices have rallied in recent weeks, climbing nearly 7% since August 2, amid growing hopes policymakers in the U.S., Europe and China will introduce fresh easing measures to prop up their respective economies.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional oversight panel on Friday that the U.S. central bank has room to deliver additional monetary easing to stimulate growth in the U.S. economy.
Market players looked ahead to a speech by Bernanke at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at the end of the week, amid ongoing speculation over how close the U.S. central bank is to implementing more stimulus measures.
He has used the event the previous two years to flag the Fed's intention on more easing.
Growing expectations that the European Central Bank will implement policy measures to help stabilize the euro zone's sovereign debt markets at its next policy meeting in early September further supported the market.
ECB President Mario Draghi will speak at Jackson Hole on Saturday.
Gains were limited as concerns the euro zone’s debt crisis is worsening were underlined Friday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected Greek pleas for an extension to its economic reform program.
Meanwhile, industry data showed earlier that German business confidence deteriorated for the fourth consecutive month to hit the lowest level since March 2010 in August.
The German research institute, Ifo said its Business Climate Index fell by 0.9 point to a seasonally adjusted 102.3 in August from a reading of 103.2 in July, whose figure was revised from 103.3.
Analysts had expected the index to ease down by 0.6 points to 102.6 in August.
Data showing profits at Chinese industrial companies fell for a fourth month in July further weighed. Income dropped 5.4% last month from a year earlier to CNY366.8 billion.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for October delivery eased down 0.05% to trade at USD1,669.85 a troy ounce, while silver for December delivery rose 0.75% to trade at USD30.94 a troy ounce.