Copper likely to rise on speculation

Copper may rise in London for the first day in five, after reaching an eight-month low, on speculation the Federal Reserve will take steps to support plunging financial markets. Fed policy makers would have met Tuesday as speculation grows that Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may do more to help restore confidence, with Harvard University economist Kenneth Rogoff predicting the central bank will embark on a third round of asset purchases. The S&P GSCI Index of raw materials slid for a ninth day in 10 to the lowest level since December. "The expectation of some sort of an emergency programme of US Fed supported prices," said Sven Streitmayer, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany. "Most markets are realising that the selloff was excessive, and many metal prices now look like quite a bargain."