DJ BASE METALS: Comex Copper Seen 4 Cents Lower At Pit Open
July copper futures are expected to open floor trading
around 4 cents lower Wednesday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit
session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In overnight activity, base metals on the London Metal Exchange traded lower
in Europe supported by U.S. dollar weakness but weighed down by slightly weaker
equity markets.
Industrial production in the 16 countries that use the euro slumped to a
record annual decline in March, as output declined across all sectors. That
also weighed on prices.
U.S. economic reports on Wednesday include:
-- April import prices at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), expected up 0.7%;
-- April retail and food sales at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), with overall
sales expected up 0.1%;
-- March business inventories at 10 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT), with total
inventories expected down 1.2%;
-- May 15 Energy Department oil inventories at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT),
with crude oil stocks expected up 1.3 million barrels.
Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell 5,275
metric tons Wednesday, leaving them at 373,750. The most recent Comex inventory
data, released late Tuesday, were up 107 short tons at 48,847 short tons.
