May copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 4 cents a pound higher Thursday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper was helped in London trading overnight by some upbeat corporate earnings reports, improved tone in equities and a weaker U.S. dollar, analysts there said. In other markets that have the potential to affect metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.2691 from $1.2550 late Wednesday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are up 9.40 points to 788.80. March crude oil is up $1.32 to $35.94 a barrel in overnight activity. Thursday will be a busy day on the U.S. economic front. Reports include: - the January Producer Price Index at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT), forecast to be up 0.3%, but up 0.1% for the core rate excluding food and energy; - first-time weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT), expected to dip 1,000 to 622,000; - the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing index at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), with the February business activity index forecast to be minus 25 after a minus 24.3 reading last month; - Conference Board's January Leading Economic Indicators at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), expected to be up 0.2%; and - weekly energy inventory data at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT). In New York Wednesday, copper futures finished with a slight gain, halting the previous day's slide when equities were modestly higher as the metal closed. However, copper remained in a consolidation that has been occurring since the beginning of the year. May copper settled 1.10 cents higher at $1.4535 per pound. Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 2,950 metric tons Thursday, leaving them at 528,250. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Wednesday afternoon, were up 179 short tons at 41,931 short tons.

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