LME copper up 0.2pc on hopes of Fed stimulus

SHANGHAI: LME copper inched up on Wednesday, supported by a rise in equities and hopes of more monetary stimulus from the US Federal Reserve later this week.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2 percent to $8,868.50 a tonne by 0126 GMT, after rising 1.5 percent in the last session.

The most-active November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged up 0.1 percent to 66,710 yuan per tonne, after rising 1.1 percent in the last session.

An address by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where policymakers and academics meet once a year, was in focus, with some investors expecting Bernanke to signal more quantitative easing measures.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday as speculation the Federal Reserve may signal further moves to support the struggling US economy sustained a modest rebound from this month's sharp sell-off.

Factory output in the US central Atlantic region dropped to a two-year low in August and new home sales hit a five-month low in July, the latest signs to suggest the economy is at risk of stalling.

A minister in Angela Merkel's conservative party propelled Germany into a euro zone debate about guarantees for Greek aid, backing a demand for collateral by Finland, which said it could quit the bailout programme if its request was turned down.

British factory orders posted a surprise improvement in August and mortgage approvals hit a one-year high, industry surveys showed on Tuesday, in a sign that parts of Britain's economy may be weathering recent global turmoil better than had been feared.

The yen came under a bit of pressure on Wednesday after Moody's cut its rating for Japan's government debt, but commodity currencies held firm having gained after manufacturing data in China and Europe were less grim than feared.

Copyright Reuters, 2011