By Allen Sykora Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Copper futures are modestly higher early Monday as the dollar gives back some of its recent strength. Around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), most-active March copper is up 1.70 cents, or 0.59%, to $2.8745 per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. "It's a reflection of the [softer] dollar. We're starting to see a little bit of stabilization in the stock market," said Stephen Platt, analyst with Archer Financial Services. The ICE Futures U.S. March dollar index is down 0.125 point to 80.470, with the lack of any further bad news about Greece's debt problems offering some relief to the recently weaker euro, currency analysts said. A softer dollar helps commodities such as copper by making them more expensive in other currencies. Meanwhile, the March S&P 500 futures are slightly higher, which also helps copper since a stronger stock market tends to be seen as economic optimism that in turn could mean more demand for industrial commodities. After copper fell from above $3.50 to the low $2.80s since early January, some light industrial buying appears to be emerging, Platt said. "There seems to be a little taste to fill in some inventories," he said. A research note from Barclays Capital said widening of the spread of Shanghai Futures Exchange prices over London Metal Exchange prices seems to have sparked some buying interest in the metal during overseas trading. A lower price on the LME relative to the Shanghai Exchange makes Chinese imports more likely. However, Barclays also cautioned, the approach of a week-long holiday in China next week "could cast a shadow over prices, with buying likely to be wound down ahead of the holiday." -By Allen Sykora, Dow Jones Newswires; 541-318-8765; allen.sykora@dowjones.com

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