DJ BASE METALS: Comex Copper Seen 4 Cents Lower At Pit Open
December copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 4 cents a
pound lower Thursday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on
the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Copper is lower on a day when the dollar strengthened in early trading and
stock-index futures have a softer tone, both of which generally weighs on base
metals.
In overnight copper news, unionized workers at BHP Billiton's (BHP) Spence
copper mine in Chile unanimously voted in favor of going on strike next week if
government mediation fails, a union leader said.
In other markets that have the potential to influence metals in the short
term, the euro is down to $1.4527 from $1.4636 late Wednesday afternoon. In
screen trading ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures are down
5.60 points to 1,047.30. November crude oil is down 73 cents to $69.88 a barrel
in overnight activity.
U.S. economic reports Thursday include:
- August personal income and spending due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT),
forecast to be up 0.1% and 1.1%, respectively;
- first-time weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), expected to
rise 5,000 to 535,000;
- August pending home sales at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), forecast to rise 1.5%
on a monthly basis;
- the Institute for Supply Management's September manufacturing index at 10
a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), expected to rise to a 54 reading from 52.9 the prior
month;
- August construction spending at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), expected to be
unchanged; and
- September sales figures expected from U.S. auto manufacturers during the
course of the day.
In New York Wednesday, copper rose largely on short covering, as traders who
previously sold were buying to unwind positions on a day that Chinese
manufacturing data remained constructive and the dollar was on the defensive.
The market also got a technical bounce after holding support at the mid-August
low earlier in the week. December copper gained 9 cents to $2.8190 per pound.
Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 400
metric tons Thursday, leaving them at 346,050. The most recent Comex inventory
data, released late Wednesday afternoon, were up 81 short tons at 53,483 short
tons.
