DJ BASE METALS: Comex Copper Seen 5 Cents Lower At Pit Open
March copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 5 cents a
pound lower Tuesday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on
the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Copper and other London base metals fell in overnight trading with crude oil
and equities, dealers there said.
China imported 286,576 metric tons of copper, copper alloy and semifinished
products in December, preliminary data provided by the General Administration
of Customs showed Tuesday.
In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term,
the euro is down to $1.3280 from $1.3362 late Monday afternoon. In screen
trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are down 4.60 points
to 863. February crude oil is down 90 cents to $36.69 a barrel in overnight
activity.
On the economic front Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is
scheduled to speak on "The Crisis and the Policy Response" in London at 8 a.m.
EST (1300 GMT). The November U.S. trade deficit is due out half an hour later
and is forecast to narrow to $51 billion from $57.19 billion in October.
In New York Monday, copper came under pressure amid global economic weakness,
highlighted by incessantly rising inventory levels, as a stronger U.S. dollar
and lower oil prices also weighed on the metal. March copper fell 7.1 cents, or
more than 4.5%, to settle at $1.4885 a pound.
Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 5,350
metric tons Tuesday, leaving them at 374,850. The most-recent Comex inventory
data, released late Monday afternoon, were steady at 35,257 short tons.
-By Allen Sykora, Dow Jones Newswires; 541-318-8765;
allen.sykora@dowjones.com
