Investing.com - Copper prices rose to a two-week peak on Monday, after China's central bank cut banks' reserve requirement ratios in a surprise decision over the weekend.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for May delivery hit a session high of $2.829 a pound, the most since April 6, before trading at $2.789 during European morning hours, up 1.5 cents, or 0.56%.
Futures were likely to find support at $2.668, the low from April 15, and resistance at $2.831, the high from April 6.
The People's Bank of China lowered the amount of deposits it requires banks to hold as reserves to 18.5% from 19.5% effective April 20, it announced on Sunday.
The move came after official data last week showed that China’s economy grew 7.0% in the first quarter, the slowest pace of growth since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Data on industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment also fell short of forecasts, indicating that China needs to act to prevent a further slowdown in the economy.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere, gold futures for June delivery tacked on $3.50, or 0.29%, to trade at $1,206.60 a troy ounce, while silver futures for May delivery inched up 6.4 cents, or 0.39% to trade at $16.29 an ounce.
Gold remained supported amid speculation the Fed could delay hiking interest rates until late 2015, instead of tightening midyear, after a recent run of soft economic data dampened optimism on the recovery.
A delay in raising interest rates would be seen as bullish for gold, as it decreases the relative cost of holding on to the metal, which doesn't offer investors any similar guaranteed payout.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.12% to trade at 97.74 early on Monday.
Concerns over the lack of an agreement on economic reforms for bailout funds between Greece and its creditors remained in focus, fuelling fears that the debt-strapped nation could be forced out of the euro zone.