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Comex May copper ends tad firmer, other months mixed

NEW YORK: Comex copper futures finished mixed but within their technical ranges on Thursday after fundamental developments brought renewed interest to the market, dealers said.

The waters were roiled by reports that Tiger Management was set to shut down its hedge funds and liquidate depleted investments, but news that a five-day port strike ended in Chile calmed afternoon trading.

"Was Tiger's situation affecting copper?", asked Sogemin Metals president Richard Hirsch. "Yes. We thought they were selling out for the last 10 days," he said.

Benchmark May copper edged up 0.05 cent to 80.75 cents a lb, ranging between 80.60 and 81.40 cents.

Nearby month July lost 0.05 cent to 81.40 and the rest were 0.15 easier to 0.05 higher.

Sources said the market was propelled in part by steady declines in warehouse stocks on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which lost an additional 3,800 metric tonnes to 762,400 tonnes on Thursday.

"The port strike was nice (for copper), declining stocks were nice, and yesterday's housing numbers were nice," one broker said.

The U.S. government said the pace of new home sales was stronger than expected in February, which industry analysts generally see as bullish for copper.

However, technical indicators have been driving prices since funds bailed out of copper positions in February, and the market hit resistance when the three-months price reached $1,780 a tonne on the LME, traders said.

"Copper was trying to move higher all day, but somebody was really sitting on aluminum," said Hirsch. "A technical play in aluminum ended up really restraining copper.

Comex stocks rose 148 short tons to 95,829 tons in Wednesday's report.

Hirsch pegged near-term resistance in May copper at 83 cents, while support was seen around 80.60 cents.

In London trade, three-months copper ended the afternoon kerb $7 higher at $1,780 a tonne, and one LME dealer said falling stocks should eventually result in an upward price trend.

In industry news, dockworkers' ended a strike at Chile's busy Iquique port without reports of shipment problems from major mining companies.

Separately, Chile's Central Bank Governor Carlos Massad on Thursday raised the country's outlook for average copper prices this year to 81 cents a lb from 75 cents.

Massad's estimate may stem from a central bank belief that the recovery from recession is coming on stronger than expected.

In other news, mining giant Anglo American Plc said on Thursday it had offered to purchase about 23 percent of Chilean copper group Empresa Minera de Mantos Blancos SA in a $92 million investment in copper.

Chile is the leading copper producing nation.

Final estimated volume for Comex copper reached 12,500 contracts, against Wednesday's official tally of 7,241 lots.

The nine-day relative strength index (RSI) for May copper rose to 47 on Thursday, compared to 46 previously.

Technicians said that an RSI reading of 70 or higher usually indicates a market is overbought, while 30 or lower means it is oversold.

Comex is a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. -Reuters