(18/04) METALS-Copper ticks up; China policy eyed, technicals point higher

April 18, 2011

Copper prices reversed early
losses on Monday, focusing on a more positive technical outlook,
with some in the market viewing Sunday's reserve ratio hike as a
step closer to the end of the monetary tightening cycle in
China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose
$30 to $9,435 a tonne by 0348 GMT. Shanghai's most-active June
copper futures contract SCFcv1 rose 280 yuan to 71,110 yuan a
tonne, after ending last week down 3.5 percent, its biggest
weekly drop in a month.
China's central bank said on Sunday it would raise lenders'
required reserves by 50 basis points, the fourth time this year
it has made such a move.

The move increases the required reserve ratio for the
country's biggest banks to a record 20.5 percent, another step
in the government's campaign to control inflation.