(Reuters) - London copper futures fell on Wednesday, extending
losses after hitting two-week lows near $8,000 a metric ton
(1.1023 tons) in the previous session, weighed down by worries
about the impact of political turmoil in
Greece
and the euro zone debt crisis.
Greece was struggling to form a government several days after
elections, raising the risk that a hard-won bailout could be
nullified.
A raft of Chinese data this week is also expected to keep
investors cautious although figures are likely to show the
economy of the world's top copper user has bottomed out as
inflation slows and output picks up.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.3
percent to $8,073.75 a tonne by 0413 GMT, after falling 1 percent
on Tuesday.
The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange fell 0.7 percent to 57,250 yuan ($9,100) a tonne, after
edging up 0.1 percent in the previous session.
"The Greek and French elections added a bearish tone to the
day as the new leaderships present a threat to the euro zone's
unity in managing its debt crisis," said a Qingdao-based
trader.
Greece became the focus of investor worry again as it sank
deeper into crisis on Tuesday when the leftist candidate for
prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, asked for pledges made in
exchange for an EU/IMF bailout of his country be torn up.
Given his radical stance, his efforts to form a coalition
government is seen as doomed.
The euro dived in response to worries over the region, and
some traders said that triggered a decline in copper prices in
the session.
"LME copper prices fell shortly after the euro dived this
morning. This reflected fears over the
euro zone
, as well as the higher costs needed by Europeans to pay for
dollar-denominated commodities," said one LME trader.
Meanwhile, adding to fears that differences among the region's
leaders may diffuse efforts to deal with the debt crisis,
European central bankers pushed back on Tuesday against pressure
by France's president-elect to do more to shore up the euro
zone.
The slew of bad news of the euro zone caused investors to
shrug off a surprising rise in German industry output in March
after a weak winter, which lifted hopes Europe's biggest economy
will gather steam this year.
Investors are expected to stay cautious during the session
ahead of Chinese data this week, including figures for trade,
inflation and industrial output.
In industry news, the LME said it has received a number of
detailed proposals from a short-list of bidders regarding a
potential acquisition of the exchange.
(Reporting by Carrie Ho; Editing by
Ed Davies
and
Miral Fahmy
)
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