December copper futures are expected to open floor trading around one-half cent a pound higher Thursday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.4730 from $1.4705 late Wednesday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures are up 4.20 points to 1,042.80. December crude oil is up 34 cents to $77.80 a barrel in overnight activity. A pair of U.S. economic reports is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). Advance third-quarter domestic product is expected to have grown by 3.2%, while weekly jobless claims are forecast to be down 6,000 to 525,000. In New York Wednesday, weaker equities, another uptick in the U.S. dollar and a disappointing report on U.S. new-home sales sent copper futures to their third straight lower close. December copper fell 6.85 cents to $2.9305 per pound. Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell 325 metric tons Thursday, leaving them at 371,400. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Wednesday afternoon, were up 683 short tons at 60,494 short tons.

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