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Comex copper

ends lower

NEW YORK: COMEX copper ended lower on fund and local selling in low volume trading, market sources and analysts said on Monday.

"There was some funds and locals selling as they got a bit long going into the close," a floor source said.

News just before COMEX closed that Chile's El Abra 225,000 tonnes a year copper mine could be on stream as early as the middle of next year, six months ahead of schedule, seemed to have no big effect on the market yet.

Active September closed at 137.25 cents a lb, down 1.80 cents a lb, traded 138.55 to 137.10 cents a lb.

Volume was light at an estimated 4,000 lots compared to Friday's official 3,562 lots.

The dip in LME copper in late trading was seen as the main reason why COMEX dropped at the close. "London is the determining factor," said analyst William O'Neill of Merrill Lynch.

But tightness in the LME spreads will inject some firmness into COMEX as well, O'Neill said.-Reuter