The most-active February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange eased 0.2 percent to close at 57,960 yuan a tonne on Monday. Better economic data out of the United States and signs that China may continue to adopt more pro-growth measures in the face of weaker manufacturing and services data should also support sentiment for copper, said Barratt.
China's services sector shrank in November, mirroring similar weakness in the country's manufacturing sector and reinforcing expectations that Beijing can ease monetary policy further to cushion the blow from the global economy. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index for China's services sector fell to 52.5 from 54.1 in November, its slowest growth in three months and the latest of a string of data that reveal a quickly cooling economy in need of policy support.