SHANGHAI, Apr. 15 (SMM) –Market worried the European debt issues would deteriorate, as the cost of insuring Greek debt hit a record high, and a possible debt restructuring may happen in Greece. For risk concerns, investors sold off the Euro and bought the US dollar, helping the US dollar index briefly reach 75.15. Meanwhile, market feared that higher inflations in China, world's top copper consumer, would depress outlook for consumption in the short term. As a result, LME copper prices slid below USD 9,400/mt, down as low as USD 9,350/mt, a new low in over one week. Later, the US Department of Labor announced the US initial jobless claims increased 27,000 to 412,000 in the week ending April 9th, well above the expectations of 3,000. The surprising rise of the data depressed buying interest in the US dollar, sending the index down to 74.61. Gold and crude oil strengthened. As the data also added to market worries over market demand for copper, LME copper prices didn't rally with other major commodity prices, and only rebounded slightly at the tail of the trading, narrowing earlier losses. Finally, LME copper prices closed at USD 9,442/mt, down USD 5.5/mt.

During Friday's Asian trading hours, the US dollar index is expected to move between 74.6-74.9, and LME copper prices will fluctuate in the USD 9,430-9,540/mt range, and SHFE three-month copper contract prices will move between RMB 71,000-72,000/mt.

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