US copper ends shade higher

US copper futures eked out a modest gain by the close on Friday, with a government plan to stabilise the housing market helping to fuel a short-covering bounce ahead of a long holiday weekend. US commodity markets will close on Monday for the US Presidents Day holiday. Business will resume on Tuesday.
Copper for March delivery rose 0.40 cent to close at $1.5385 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. Session range from $1.53 to $1.5760. COMEX estimated final futures volume at 18,512 lots versus Thursday's 25,266 lots.
Open interest jumped 2,328 lots to 85,095 contracts as of February 12. Copper, used primarily in home construction, was buoyed by news late Thursday that the Obama administration was creating a plan to subsidise mortgage payments in an effort to lift the US housing market out of a three-year slump. Prices of existing US single-family homes fell by a record 12.4 percent on a year ago in the fourth quarter to their lowest level since 2003 - National Association of Realtors.
A steadier tone in US equity markets after Thursday's sharp rebound and a slightly weaker dollar lent a bit of strength to the copper market - Sterling Smith, vice president with FuturesOne in Chicago. The euro gained 0.2 percent against the dollar at $1.2888, despite bearish data showing the euro zone economy in a deeper recession than expected.
Copper further supported by expected passage of the $789 billion US economic stimulus aimed at unleashing large spending and tax cuts to help dig the economy out of a 14-month recession. Copper strength bucks gloomy US consumer confidence data for February. COMEX copper stocks were flat at 41,258 short tons as of Thursday.
Weekly copper stocks monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 19 percent to 33,861 tonnes. Copper premiums in Southeast Asia rose in February. South Korea is seeking 5,000 tonnes of copper cathode on a cost, insurance and freight basis for shipping by April 10 to the port of Gunsan - state-run Public Procurement Service.