December copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 3 cents a pound higher Wednesday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper and other base metals on the London Metal Exchange rose overnight due to a surprise increase in Chinese copper imports, analysts said. Some 399,052 metric tons of copper, copper alloy and semi-finished products were brought into the country in September, up 23% from August, according to preliminary Chinese customs data released Wednesday. Analysts had been expecting a monthly decline. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.4888 from $1.4829 late Tuesday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures are up 14.30 points to 1,083.10. November crude oil is up 66 cents to $74.81 a barrel in overnight activity. After a light start to the week, the U.S. economic calendar heats up Wednesday. Reports include: - September retail sales due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), forecast to be down 2.1% but up 0.3% when excluding autos; - September import prices at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), expected to rise 0.3%; - August business inventories at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), forecast to be down 1.2%; and - the minutes of the September meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, scheduled for release at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). In New York Tuesday, copper futures slid following news that a labor settlement averted a possible strike later in the year at the world's largest copper mine, Escondida in Chile. December copper fell 6.25 cents to settle at $2.7945 per pound. Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 5,725 metric tons Wednesday, leaving them at 353,225. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Tuesday afternoon, were up 423 short tons at 56,442 short tons.

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