London copper drifted on Friday, not far from 8-month lows hit the prior session, biding time ahead of the U.S. jobs report with top consumer China out on holiday, while expectations of further easing by central
banks curbed losses. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged down 0.20 percent to $7,425 a tonne by 0704 GMT, from the previous session. Copper on Thursday plumbed its lowest since Aug. 3 at $7,331.25 a tonne. Prices are now down more than 6 percent for
the year. The Shanghai Futures Exchange will reopen on Monday after a two-day break. "We don't think copper will go much below the recent lows, at least in the near term," said economist Alexandra Knight at
National Australia Bank in Melbourne. A soft patch in demand will fade out as the market recovers from a bout of shaky confidence after manufacturing reports from China and the U.S. failed to live up to expectations, she said. "We're expecting a modest recovery from the U.S. to continue and Chinese recovery to remain fairly robust," she added. Expectations that central banks around the world will keep an easy monetary stance have underpinned metals which as hard assets tend to climb in value as paper depreciates. The Bank of Japan unleashed the world's most intense burst of monetary stimulus on Thursday to jump start its economy out of decades of deflation, while the European Central Bank opened the door to an interest rate cut as soon as next month, to boost its recession-hit economy. "Declining metal markets have highlighted the unusual divergence between falling commodity markets and rising equity
markets particularly in the States," noted Michael Turek, a trader at brokerage NewEdge in New York.
"The belief that ...Bernanke will stimulate if the economy weakens will continue to be most supportive. In terms of metals, we do appear to be oversold," he added. U.S. job growth likely was moderate in February as higher taxes and fears of deep government spending cuts made employers cautious, suggesting there was still not enough momentum in the economy for the Federal Reserve to scale back its monetary
support.(http://www.kitcometals.com/news/)
banks curbed losses. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged down 0.20 percent to $7,425 a tonne by 0704 GMT, from the previous session. Copper on Thursday plumbed its lowest since Aug. 3 at $7,331.25 a tonne. Prices are now down more than 6 percent for
the year. The Shanghai Futures Exchange will reopen on Monday after a two-day break. "We don't think copper will go much below the recent lows, at least in the near term," said economist Alexandra Knight at
National Australia Bank in Melbourne. A soft patch in demand will fade out as the market recovers from a bout of shaky confidence after manufacturing reports from China and the U.S. failed to live up to expectations, she said. "We're expecting a modest recovery from the U.S. to continue and Chinese recovery to remain fairly robust," she added. Expectations that central banks around the world will keep an easy monetary stance have underpinned metals which as hard assets tend to climb in value as paper depreciates. The Bank of Japan unleashed the world's most intense burst of monetary stimulus on Thursday to jump start its economy out of decades of deflation, while the European Central Bank opened the door to an interest rate cut as soon as next month, to boost its recession-hit economy. "Declining metal markets have highlighted the unusual divergence between falling commodity markets and rising equity
markets particularly in the States," noted Michael Turek, a trader at brokerage NewEdge in New York.
"The belief that ...Bernanke will stimulate if the economy weakens will continue to be most supportive. In terms of metals, we do appear to be oversold," he added. U.S. job growth likely was moderate in February as higher taxes and fears of deep government spending cuts made employers cautious, suggesting there was still not enough momentum in the economy for the Federal Reserve to scale back its monetary
support.(http://www.kitcometals.com/news/)
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