September copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 4 cents a pound higher Monday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper on the London Metal Exchange hit a nine-month high overnight as a base-metals rally continued due to investor optimism surrounding equity markets, with that likely to attract more fund buying, traders and analysts said. A softer U.S. dollar also helped. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.4277 from $1.4212 late Friday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the September S&P 500 futures are down 0.20 point to 977.60. September crude oil is up 55 cents to $68.60 a barrel in overnight activity. The main U.S. economic report on the calendar for Monday is June new-home sales due out at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). They are forecast to rise 2.3% to an annualized rate of 350,000. The Dallas Fed manufacturing outlook is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) and the Chicago Fed manufacturing index is due out at noon EDT (1600 GMT). Other major reports this week include the Conference Board's consumer-confidence index on Tuesday, durable-goods orders and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report Wednesday and initial jobless claims Thursday. Gross domestic product, the Employment Cost Index and Chicago Purchasing Management Index are scheduled for release on Friday. In New York Friday, copper futures settled near steady after a week of solid gains, as participants squared positions going into the weekend. September copper fell 0.2 cent to settle at $2.5220 a pound. Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 3,475 metric tons Monday, leaving them at 277,425. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Friday afternoon, were down 192 short tons at 56,779 short tons. -By Allen Sykora, Dow Jones Newswires; 541-318-8765; allen.sykora@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires

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