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21:19 20 Mar RTRS-COMEX May copper ends off amid technical selling

NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - COMEX copper futures slumped in listless trading

after London prices hit technical resistance and faltered, dealers said.

"London is down-ticking, so people are trading off of that," said one floor

source. "Other than that, it has been a very quiet day."

Final estimated volumes for COMEX copper reached a mere 8,000 contracts, compared

with Friday's official tally of 9,573 lots.

Active May fell 0.70 cent to 80.75 cents a lb, ranging from 80.60 to 81.90, while

spot March weakened 0.65 to 79.90 cents.

Back months all settled between 0.60 to 0.75 cents easier.

"I haven't seen any major funds trading," one floor source said. "It looks like

arbitrage and locals doing most of it," he added.

New York dealers expected copper to post gains if the three-months price on the

London Metal Exchange (LME) retains a firm close above key-level $1,800 a tonne.

"If we get above the 82.10 mark (roughly the COMEX equivalent), we could keep

this thing on the upside," said one trader.

Chartists pegged near-term support in COMEX May copper at 81.05 cents a lb and

resistance at 82.70 cents.

Although LME inventories continue declining from record high levels reached Feb

28, market participants were unsure whether copper is primed to break up out of its

well-worn range in the near-term.

Sogemin Metals president Richard Hirsch said copper underwent a "technical

failure" Monday, having reached its 30-day moving average at the intra-day high of

81.90 cents.

"It fell after reaching that, and I think copper is in a rest period," he said.

"But, warehouse stocks fell and oil fell -- both excellent for copper," Hirsch said.

LME copper inventories dropped 4,800 tonnes to 805,200 tonnes on Monday, while

COMEX stocks were down 108 short tons to 96,450 tons in Friday's report.

Hirsch interpreted the market to be in an intermediate rally since the funds

finished liquidating longs, sending copper to three-month lows near 78 cents in

early March.

In London, LME three-months copper finished the afternoon kerb at $1,782 a tonne,

down $20 from Friday, as resistance at the $1,800 mark repelled copper's attempts to

break above its established technical band.

In industry news, London-listed Chilean mining group Antofagasta Plc's Los

Pelambres mine in Northern Chile can potentially produce over 300,000 tonnes per

year of copper, its President of Mining Operations said.

In other news, Belgian metals producer Union Miniere <ACUMt.BR> said Monday it

will raise output at two of its European copper smelters this year.

Production at UM's smelter in Pirdop, Bulgaria will increase to 145,000 tonnes of

copper anode in 2000 from 95,000 tonnes in 1999, while refined copper output at Olen

in Belgium will rise to 350,000 tonnes from 330,000 tonnes.

COMEX is a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

((--Zachary Howard, New York Commodity Desk, 212-859-1645,

zach.howard@reuters.com))

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Monday, 20 March 2000 21:19:41

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