Copper steady as markets digest euro jolt

Copper steadied on Monday as investors took the view an EU one credit rating cut by ratings agency Standard & Poor's late last week was largely priced in and turned their attention to key growth data from top metals buyer China. Benchmark three-month copper rose 0.64 per cent to $8,051 (Dh29,547) a tonne by 1005 GMT, from a last bid of $8,000 on the London Metal Exchange kerb close on Friday. The metal posted its strongest weekly performance in last six weeks. "The market realised nothing drastic happened as far as metals are concerned, they're very macro sensitive yes but China matters much more this year for copper," said VTB Capital analyst Andre Kryuchenkov. "People are getting tired of the Eurozone. We know things are not rosy but we still haven't seen a serious credit event." Standard & Poor's downgraded nine of the Eurozone's 17 countries on Friday.