NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Base metals cut their losses and were trading higher Wednesday as the dollar weakened.
A series of U.S. economic data including favorable jobless claims and new-home sales could see base metals edging away from the lows. However, the gains may not be sustained as new industrial orders could stall the momentum.
Durable goods orders for October are expected flat, unlike the 3.3% increase in September. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 20 are at 435,000, lower than the 439,000 recorded for the previous week. Continuing claims for the Nov. 13 week are at 4.28 million vs. 4.30 million recorded earlier.
The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for November is forecast at 69.5, marginally above the earlier 69.3. October new-home sales are seen climbing to 315,000 from 307,000 in September. Overall, the house price index for September is likely to be flat, compared to the earlier 0.4% increase.
Copper
Copper for three-month delivery gained 1.8% to $8,290 per metric tonne on the London Metal Exchange as the dollar lowered. Copper faces support and resistance at $8,026 and $8,305, respectively. Inventories narrowed 950 tonnes to 358,050 tonnes.
Southern Copper(SCCO) closed at $41.94 Tuesday, finding support at $41.40 and resistance at $42.82. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold(FCX) closed at $98.7, with support and resistance at $97.7 and $99.8, respectively. Teck Resources (TCK) closed at $47.77, with support at $47.20 and resistance at $48.70.
Aluminum
Aluminum for three-month delivery rose 1% to $2,277 per tonne. Inventories were down 3,425 tonnes to 4.29 million tones. The metal faces support at $2,235 and resistance at $2,282.
Alcoa(AA) closed at $13.13 Tuesday, finding support and resistance at $13.30 and $13.22, respectively. The stock has been trading lower in the past two trading sessions on the concern of rising premiums for aluminum shipments to Japan during the first quarter of 2011. Century Aluminum(CENX) closed at $14.04, with support at $13.89 and resistance at $14.19. Kaiser Aluminum(KALU) closed at $46.58, finding support at $46.10 and resistance at $46.94.
Nickel
Nickel for three-month delivery gained 1.4% to close at $21,900 per tonne. Inventories accumulated 804 tonnes to close at 130,818 tonnes. The metal faces support and resistance at $21,179 and $21,949, respectively.
