July copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 4 cents a pound higher Friday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Base metals rallied in London overnight as the dollar weakened and recent shorts were forced to cover. A bounce in global equity markets also lent support, although some profit-taking ahead of long weekends in the U.S. and the U.K. is likely, traders said. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.3954 from $1.3892 late Thursday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the June S&P 500 futures are up 4.20 points to 892.90. July crude oil is up 52 cents to $61.57 a barrel in overnight activity. No major U.S. economic reports are on the calendar Friday. In New York Thursday, copper futures came under pressure from weaker equities as the bullish economic sentiment that has supported the metal of late begins to unravel. July copper fell 5.55 cents to settle at $2.0510 per pound. Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell 2,700 metric tons Friday, leaving them at 333,375. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Thursday afternoon, were up 790 short tons at 52,501 short tons. Once-a-week data showed a fall of 1,591 metric tons in Shanghai Futures Exchange inventories, leaving the total at 33,798 metric tons.

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