India's copper futures eased on Wednesday on overseas leads, where falling equity markets spurred selling, but a weak rupee may limit losses later in the session, analysts said. The benchmark April copper contract MCCJ9 was 0.59 percent lower at 219.10 rupees per kg at 10:42 a.m., after hitting a low of 217.7 rupees in early deals. The contract had gained 1.4 percent in the previous session. At 10:26 a.m., three-month London copper was 0.80 percent lower at $4,315 a tonne. A weak rupee makes the dollar-quoted asset expensive. The Indian rupee dropped early on Wednesday after a three-day rise as weakness in regional stocks raised concerns of outflows from domestic shares, while the dollar's strength versus majors overseas also hurt. See [ID:nBOM471549] Analysts said the red metal may move sideways and would await a fresh impetus for direction. "Copper would largely consolidate between 215-225 (rupees) on lack of fresh triggers to break on either side," said Harish Galipelli, head of research with Karvy Comtrade. Copper would trade sideways in the range of 218-225, said Abhishek Chauhan, a technical analyst with Angel Commodities.

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