Copper weighed down by poor risk appetite

Copper fell Monday as investors lost their appetite for risk after European finance ministers postponed an emergency loan to help Greece avoid defaulting on its debt, and China demand worries weighed. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was $8,951 (Dh32,878) a tonne in official rings, after closing up 0.3 per cent at $9,095 on Friday. "The Greece situation has been weighing on sentiment and I think there are still concerns about Chinese monetary policy and the direction that's going to take," Barclays Capital analyst Gayle Berry said. "Those are the two largest underlying concerns in the market at the moment. Until we get some kind of resolution on the macro front we'll continue to see this volatile price action." In an effort to quell inflation, China has tightened credit, clouding the outlook for metals demand. In the Eurozone, finance ministers applied intense pressure on Greece, saying it had to approve stricter austerity measures before the final decision is made on a further $17 billion in loans. The euro fell against the dollar, making commodities, including base metals, more expensive for holders of other currencies. Nickel, untraded in rings, was bid at $21,425 a tonne. It hit a session low of $21,350 a tonne, its lowest since November last year. The price of the metal, used to make steel, is down by 27 per cent from the year's highs reached in February. From / Gulf News