Reuters reported that London copper was steady on Friday as it headed for its first weekly gain in three after signs of a recovery in the US economy boosted investor hopes that demand for the industrial metal may pick up.

FUNDAMENTALS
1. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange inched up 0.13% to USD 7,550 a tonne by 0125 GMT, extending gains from the previous session. Prices have climbed 2.8% this week, snapping two weeks of declines. Copper is still down21 percent this year, its worst annual performance since 2008.
2. The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 0.86% to CNY 55,340 (USD 8,700) a tonne.

3. The number of outstanding copper futures contracts on the LME has fallen this week, as positions are closed out before the year end holidays.

MARKETS NEWS
1. US claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week to their lowest in more than 3 and 1/2 years, while consumer confidence jumped in December to the highest level in six months.
2. The euro was steady in thin holiday Asian trade on Friday, leaving it on track to end the year modestly lower against the dollar as the European debt crisis looks set to last for many more months. It was at $1.3050, having held to a tight $1.3016/$1.3120 range overnight.

3. Asian stocks edged up on Friday, as signs of a strengthening economy in the United States encouraged a modest year-end rally in riskier assets.

4. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 61.91 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 12,169.65 on Thursday. The S&P 500 Index added 0.83 percent.

5. The European Central Bank's first-ever tender of ultra-cheap three-year loans on Wednesday was not giving much support to the euro and doubts remained over how much of the funds will be lent to boost the ailing euro zone economy or used to buy sovereign debt of struggling economies.

(Sourced from Reuters)