March copper futures are expected to open floor trading around steady to a penny a pound higher Thursday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is down to $1.2997 from $1.3023 late Wednesday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are down 3.30 points to 833.70. March crude oil is up 29 cents $43.84 a barrel in overnight activity. The two main U.S. economic reports in a data-light week are due out at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT) on Thursday. First-time weekly jobless claims are forecast to rise 26,000 to 550,000, while December housing starts are expected to fall 4% to an annualized rate of 600,000. Weekly energy-inventory data - which can move crude oil, which in turn often leads price direction for metals - is due out at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT). In New York on Wednesday, copper was pressured by continuing rises in warehouse inventories and general concerns about the economy, yet the metal remained within the recent trading band. March copper fell 7.10 cents to settle at $1.4335 per pound. Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 4,975 metric tons Thursday, leaving them at 422,450. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Wednesday afternoon, were up 1,095 short tons at 38,055 short tons.

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