RTRS: US copper trims early losses on strong housing data
U.S. copper futures trimmed their losses Tuesday morning in response to surprisingly strong data from the U.S. housing sector that reinforced recent views that the recession was easing.
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* Copper for July delivery HGN9 was down 0.80 cent at $2.3110 a lb by 10:46 a.m. EDT (1446 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
* Session range from $2.28 to $2.3530, which marked a new high for the benchmark contract dating back to Oct. 14.
* Monday breakout above multi-month congestion level at $2.24 (a lb) to project a trending move toward $2.40 - Ralph Preston, futures analyst with HeritageWestFutures.com in San Diego, California.
* COMEX estimated futures volume at 9,214 lots by 10 a.m.
* Copper cuts early losses after data showed pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes in April unexpectedly posted their biggest monthly gain in 7-1/2 years - Preston.
* Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7 percent in April to 90.3 from 84.6 in March -- the biggest monthly increase since October 2001 - The National Association of Realtors. [ID:nN02503338]
* Extended losses in the dollar offer additional support to dollar-denominated copper prices following the surprisingly strong housing data.
