December copper futures are expected to open floor trading around 3 to 4 cents a pound lower Wednesday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The outside markets that often influence copper--the euro, stock-index futures and crude oil--are also all weaker. The euro is down to $1.4915 from $1.4929 late Tuesday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures are down 7.80 points to 1,081.60. December crude oil is down $1.33 to $77.79 a barrel in overnight activity. The main report that the market will be monitoring Wednesday morning will be the U.S. Energy Department's release of weekly inventory data at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT). Crude-oil stocks are expected to rise 1.3 million barrels. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report is scheduled for release at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). In New York Tuesday, copper finished softer after turning back from a $2.9990 high that was the contract's strongest level in nearly 13 months. A rally in the U.S. dollar, weaker equities and an inventory build pressured the metal. December copper fell 3.45 cents to $2.9320 per pound. Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 5,275 metric tons Wednesday, leaving them at 362,550. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Tuesday afternoon, were up 373 short tons at 57,691 short tons.

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