Monday, March 24, 2008; Posted: 07:53 AM
May copper futures are expected to open floor trading near flat Monday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In overnight trading, copper futures traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange settled little changed Monday as investors waited for direction from the London Metal Exchange, which is closed for the Easter Monday holiday.
In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is near steady at $1.5436 from $1.5431 late Friday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the June S&P 500 futures are up 8.8 points to 1,333.50. May crude is down 76 cents to $101.08 in overnight activity.
U.S. February existing home sales data are due out at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), with total sales expected down 0.8% at 4.85 million.
In New York Thursday, fund-led selling sent copper futures sharply lower early in trading, but many participants bought back previously sold positions, leaving the red metal to close down only mildly. The most-active May copper contract fell 6 cents to settle at $3.5735 per pound.
Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell 1,100 metric tons Thursday, leaving them at 121,875. The most recent Comex inventory data, released late Thursday afternoon, were down 67 short tons at 12,340 short tons.
-By Matt Whittaker, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5959; matt.whittaker@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-24-08 0753ET
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