Copper prices bounced from near three-month lows to end flat on Monday, but sentiment remained fragile amid concerns over the global economic impact from Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami. Despite copper's ability to stabilise from the recent wave of risk reduction, investors continued to side with caution, fearing the crisis in Japan, the world's third largest economy, could derail the global economic recovery.
"How much of an overall economic impact all this is going to have is keeping buyers pushed to sidelines at the moment," said Sterling Smith, an analyst for Country Hedging Inc in St. Paul, Minnesota. London Metal Exchange copper for three-month delivery eked out a $5 gain to close at $9,195 a tonne, extending a recovery from Friday's three-month low at $8,992 a tonne. London's positive tone, however, failed to attract buyers in New York, where May copper fell 2.10 cents to finish at $4.1865 per lb.