Investing.com - Copper prices moved further away from a six-year low struck in the previous session on Thursday, as policymakers in China provided fresh measures to boost liquidity and calm investors following days of sharp declines on Chinese stock markets.
Copper for September delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 2.1 cents, or 0.82%, to trade at $2.518 a pound during European morning hours.
The Shanghai Composite rallied nearly 6% on Thursday as authorities increased scrutiny of short selling and eased rules for insurers to invest in blue-chips stocks in wake of China’s recent stock plunge.
In addition, regulators banned shareholders with stakes of more than 5% in a company from selling stock over the next six months.
Market players are concerned that the plunge in the stock market could spread to other parts of the Chinese economy, triggering fears that the Asian nation's demand for the industrial metal will decline.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
A day earlier, copper tumbled to $2.381, a level not seen since July 2009, before turning higher to end at $2.497, up 5.0 cents, or 2.06% as investors hoped for a last-minute deal on Greece.
Greece requested a new three-year bailout from its euro zone creditors and pledged some economic overhauls on Wednesday.
Whether European leaders accept Greece's request for more emergency loans at a crisis summit on Sunday will depend on whether Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras makes a drastic turnaround on pension cuts, tax increases and other austerity measures after five months of negotiations.
Elsewhere, gold futures for August delivery slumped $2.10, or 0.18%, to trade at $1,161.40 a troy ounce, while silver futures for September delivery inched up 14.7 cents, or 0.97% to trade at $15.30 an ounce .
The minutes of the Fed's June policy meeting showed that policy makers need to see more signs of a strengthening U.S. economy before raising interest rates.
In its June policy statement, the central bank had indicated that it was on track for at least one and perhaps a second rate increase later this year.
The minutes also pointed to concerns over Greece's financial problems, signaling that global market turmoil could derail the Fed's rate hike plans if contagion spreads.