Copper prices teetered near a six-year low on Wednesday and the dollar pulled back slightly, after mixed Chinese data showed growth in the world's second-biggest economy was still in low gear.
China's October industrial production growth cooled to 5.6% year-on-year, slightly lower than the 5.8% gain economists polled by Reuters had expected, though it was cushioned by a just-above-forecast 11% jump in retail sales.
That left financial markets with a divided feel as the prospect of the first rise in U.S. interest rates in almost a decade but also another shot of stimulus from the European Central Bank continued to muddy the waters too.
Europe's main markets were having the best day of the month so far with London's FTSE, Germany's DAX and France's CAC40 up 0.5%, 1.1% and 0.8% respectively after a late rally had helped Chinese shares end Asia's session marginally higher.
With risk appetite gaining, Wall Street was expected to follow suit when it resumes, although trading is likely to be thinned with Treasury bond and some other U.S. markets closed for Veteran's Day.
Benchmark European bond market yields and the euro were sliding again on the ECB bets as the wobbles in China left copper - China's growth-hungry economy is its biggest consumer - near its lowest since mid-2009 at $4,914 U.S. a tonne.
Zinc and lead, two other industrial metals, hit multi-year lows as well.
The dollar index eased away from a seven-month peak to slip 0.1% to 99.183 although it was starting to find some renewed traction against the yen as it steadied itself at 123.13 in the first flurry of New York deals.
Its earlier dip gave some respite to emerging market currencies and the euro trudged back down toward $1.07 U.S. ahead of a speech in London by ECB President Mario Draghi and in Madrid by the bank's number two, Vitor Constancio.
