Copper gains in New York

US copper futures settled firmer on Wednesday, as the market continued to consolidate from its all-time highs last week, while some technicians believed there was still room to probe the upside.
"I consider last Friday to be a break-out from the recent chart pattern and all the market is doing right now is digesting that break-out," said one floor broker.
"It's starting to look like a bull flag," he added, referring to May copper's spike to a life-of-contract high at $2.40 a lb., which has been followed by a period of short-term profit-taking this week. A bull flag chart pattern usually indicates a resumption of the market's upward trend.
Benchmark May copper futures ended the day up 1.50 cent at $2.3390 a lb. on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, after dealing from $2.3165 to $2.3510.
Technical analysts pegged resistance in May copper at around $2.37 to $2.38 a lb., with support seen at $2.30 and then at $2.2725.
Spot March rose 1.60 cent at $2.35, while back month contracts closed with gains of 1.30 to 1.55 cent.
COMEX final copper volume was estimated at 13,000 lots, above Tuesday's official count at 9,322 lots.
"We're trading near the top of this recent range, and continue to close above $2.30, which looks healthy," one dealer said. "Nobody in their right minds believed copper would ever get to $2 a lb., and here we are at $2.30. So, if we can get to $2.30, I think we can get to $2.50."
Some believed the lack of liquidity during the red metal's rally last week was a possible cause for concern, as it could translate into a possible false break-out, analysts said.
"However, with the trend still pointing higher, it may just be that prices are not ready to run higher yet, in which case a move back into the mid-February to mid-March consolidation zone may be on the cards," said William Adams, metals analyst at BaseMetals.com.
Underpinning the market was the ongoing protest demanding the closure of the massive Grasberg copper mine owned by US firm Freeport-McMoran Cooper & Gold Inc, which could eventually result in disruptions to output. In London, three months copper on the London Metal Exchange settled at $5,109 a tonne, up $4 from Tuesday's kerb close, though well below Tuesday's all-time high at $5,186.
On the supply side, LME copper warehouse inventories fell 1,300 tonnes to 129,000 tonnes on Wednesday.
In mid-March, stocks peaked at 134,700 tonnes, the highest level since mid-2004.