London 10/12/2012 - Base metals rose in start-of-week trading, with several hitting multi-week highs, boosted by positive Chinese data over the weekend. But disappointing eurozone numbers and a softer euro capped gains. This morning, the German trade balance disappointed at 15.2 billion euros against a forecast of 15.9 billion euros, while French and Italian industrial production at -0.7 percent and -1.1 percent respectively were also under par. Sentix investor confidence at -16.8 undershot the expected -16.2. The euro stepped back to 1.2902 against the dollar, down around a fifth of a cent. And in Italy, Prime Minister Mario Monti’s pledge to tender his resignation once the Italian government has approved the 2013 budget has unsettled markets and pushed up the country’s borrowing rates.
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