IV:Copper futures lower on Fed jitters, China data in focus
Investing.com - Copper futures edged lower on Wednesday, as investors re-examined expectations on how soon the Federal Reserve may start to pull back its asset purchase program.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for September delivery traded at USD3.163 a pound during European morning trade, down 0.3%.
Nymex copper prices held in a range between USD3.146 a pound, the daily low and a session high of USD3.180 a pound.
The September contract settled up 0.15% at USD3.173 a pound on Tuesday.
Copper prices were likely to find support at USD3.132 a pound, the low from August 2 and resistance at USD3.208 a pound, Tuesday’s high.
Appetite for the industrial metal weakened amid concerns the Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying program in the coming months.
A government report showed on Tuesday that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 22.4% to a seasonally adjusted USD34.2 billion in June, the lowest level since October 2009.
Investors have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the central bank will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
Also Tuesday, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he expected the central bank to begin tapering its asset-purchase program by the end of the year.
The Fed’s stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of commodities as it tends to depress the value of the dollar.
Copper traders now looked ahead to data scheduled for later in the week on China’s trade balance as well as a report on inflation and industrial production, amid ongoing concerns over the Asian nation’s economic outlook.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery lost 0.65% to trade at USD1,274.40 a troy ounce, while silver for September delivery tumbled 1.5% to trade at USD19.22 a troy ounce.
Moves in the gold and silver price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected.
