DJ BASE METALS: Comex Copper Seen 2 Cents Higher At Pit Open
March copper futures are expected to open floor trading
around 2 cents higher Friday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit
session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In overnight activity, base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed
Friday, and traders and analysts said they are expected to remain in their
recent trading ranges, taking direction from technical indicators and equity
markets.
U.S. economic reports Friday include the February preliminary
Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index at 9:55 a.m. EST (1455
GMT), with the mid-month sentiment index expected at 60.
Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 2,875
metric tons Friday, leaving them at 519,550. The most recent Comex inventory
data, released late Thursday afternoon, were unchanged at 41,258 short tons.
Once-a-week data released Friday's by the Shanghai Futures Exchange showed a
weekly rise of 5,328 metric tons to 33,881.
