DJ BASE METALS: Comex Copper Seen 7 Cents Higher At Pit Open
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
March copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 7 cents a
pound higher Monday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on
the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The metal rose in overseas trading on a combination of short covering,
stock-market gains and weakness in the U.S. dollar, analysts said.
In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term,
the euro is up to $1.2864 from $1.2721 late Friday afternoon. In screen trading
ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures are up 23.80 points to
896.20. January crude oil is up $2.47 to $43.28 a barrel in overnight activity.
The lone U.S. economic report on the calendar Monday is the Conference
Board's employment-trends index due out at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT).
In New York Friday, copper sank to its lowest level in more than four years
after weaker-than-expected payrolls data showed a deepening U.S. recession and
continued the stream of bearish economic news that is pressuring demand for the
industrial metal. March copper dropped 9.6 cents, or more than 6.5%, to settle
at $1.3735 a pound.
Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 3,425
metric tons Monday, leaving them at 300,725. The most recent Comex inventory
data, released late Friday afternoon, were steady at 17,113 short tons.
-By Allen Sykora, Dow Jones Newswires; 541-318-8765;
allen.sykora@dowjones.com
