Reuters reported that London copper inched up on Tuesday, edging off a two-day low in the previous session, as a euro zone pact to raise IMF resources boosted market confidence, though investors' year-end caution is set to push copper to its first annual decline in three years.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.23% to USD 7,277 a tonne by 0750 GMT, reversing some losses from the previous session, when prices dropped 1.2%. The metal, used in pipes and wires, has fallen 24% this year.

Mr Ong Yiling an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore said that "The new measure is positive but seems to be a little less than what the market was expecting. With volume being thin as the year comes to an end investors are now staying on the sidelines, waiting to see what happens in the new year."

Euro zone ministers agreed on Monday to boost IMF resources by EUR 150 billion to ward off the debt crisis and won support for more money from EU allies, but it was unclear if the bloc would reach its EUR 200 billion target after Britain bowed out.

The European Central Bank said the risks to financial stability in the euro zone had increased considerably in the second half of this year, but a break-up of the single currency bloc is unthinkable.

The most traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 0.3% to CNY 53,740 (USD 8,500) a tonne.

(Sourced from Reuters)