By Allen Sykora Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Copper futures are higher early Thursday after the metal got a boost overnight from Chinese buying and ideas that the supply/demand picture in the country remains supportive. Meanwhile, copper traders, like those in other markets, are waiting to see what steps European leaders might be willing to take to help Greece solve its debt issues. Around 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT), most-active March copper is up 3.60 cents, or 1.20%, to $3.0250 per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper rose overnight despite a modest uptick in the dollar, which normally pressures commodities by making them more expensive in other currencies. "One of the reasons is you saw some Asian [copper] buying ahead of the holiday," said one New York trader. Traders on the Shanghai Futures Exchange earlier Thursday cited unexpected buying ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in the country, with some suggesting that supplies in the nation might be tighter than previously thought. "The feeling emanating from Asia is that demand will likely be strong after the Chinese New Year, and this could explain the sharp run-up we are seeing heading into the holidays," said MF Global analyst Edward Meir. Standard Bank said lower-than-expected Chinese inflation data was also encouraging. The country's January Consumer Price Index rose 1.5%, when expectations were for 2%. "This should see the PBOC [People's Bank of China] hold back from having to take any overly aggressive action in the near future, with comments from the PBOC that they will gradually exit from its stimulus measures helping to reinforce this view," said Standard analyst Leon Westgate. That helped alleviate one of the worries from earlier in the year, when traders fretted that potential Chinese tightening would slow the economy and thus demand for copper. Meanwhile, stock-index futures are near steady, as the market watches to see whether European nations will help Greece with its debt situation. So far, there has been a show of support for Greece. Herman Van Rompuy, president of the EU Council, said euro-zone countries will provide "determined and coordinated action if needed" to preserve stability in the currency union. However, he gave few details as leaders of the EU countries continued their talks, and traders are still waiting to see if there is any specific outcome. Greece's fiscal problems, which include a heavy debt burden and wide fiscal deficits, have prompted fears of a sovereign default and created worries about further problems in the euro zone. Worries about Greece, along with signs of Chinese tightening last month, previously knocked copper down by some 20% from its early-January high to last week's low.

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