Copper settled 0.40% up at 416.85 but market is trading under pressure as fears over US fiscal policy and ongoing uncertainty surrounding Spain and Greece continued to weigh on appetite for riskier assets. The outlook for US and global growth was clouded amid concerns over the fiscal cliff, $600 billion of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, unless lawmakers can reach an agreement. Ratings agency Fitch warned that the US’s AAA rating would be at risk if Congress and President Obama did not immediately take action to avoid the crisis. There are fears that US lawmakers will repeat the same political divisiveness that led S&P's to downgrade the US’s AAA rating in August 2011. Meanwhile, Spain sold more than the full targeted amount at an auction of medium-to -long term debt earlier in the day, reducing pressure on PM Mariano Rajoy to request a bailout. Investors have been anticipating for the past month that the Spanish government would ask for a full-scale sovereign bailout. A bailout would allow the ECB to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. Market participants also focused on the start of the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress, where a once-in-a-decade leadership change is to take place. Investors looking for clues on how the new leadership plans to address the nation's economic slowdown. For today's session market is looking to take support at 414.3, a break below could see a test of 411.7 and where as resistance is now likely to be seen at 418.6, a move above could see prices testing 420.3.

Trading Ideas:

Copper trading range for the day is 411.7-420.3.

Copper edged higher ahead of a leadership transition in China, which may result in fresh economic stimulus measures

India's annual consumption of copper is pegged at around 580,000 tonnes, and growing at 7-8 percent per annum.

ECB said there were no signs the Eurozone economy would recover before the end of this year