Investing.com - Copper futures fell to a three-day low on Tuesday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s first testimony on monetary policy to Congress later in the day. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery fell to a session low of USD3.202 a pound, the weakest since February 6. Copper prices last traded at USD3.213 a pound during European morning hours, down 0.35%. The March copper contract ended Monday’s session down 0.36% to settle at USD3.224 a pound. Futures were likely to find support at USD3.191 a pound, the low from February 6 and resistance at USD3.253 a pound, the high from February 10. Ms. Yellen was to testify on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy before the House Financial Services Committee later Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. The Fed chair was expected to reiterate that the bank will continue to unwind its stimulus program as long as the economic recovery continues as expected, and to repeat that the bank will keep interest rates at current record lows for some time to come. The testimony is coming amid fresh concerns over the outlook for the recovery, following the weakest two-month stretch of U.S. job creation in three years in December and January. The Fed tapered its monthly asset purchase program by another USD10 billion to USD65 billion a month at its last policy meeting. Investors also looked ahead to key economic data out of China later in the week to gauge the strength of the world’s second largest economy. On Thursday, China will release its monthly trade data, which will be followed by inflation numbers Friday. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year. Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for April delivery rose 0.6% to trade at USD1,282.30 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery was little changed to trade at USD20.10 a troy ounce.

Source