COMEX copper futures fell sharply in early Wednesday dealings, in reaction to upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on the state of the US economy, comments that left players believing the Fed would raise US interest rates and that thrust the dollar higher.
Some players sold off long copper holdings on Greenspan's comments as the dollar rallied broadly against major currencies on higher US interest rate expectations.
Players who had been betting on a prolonged uptrend in copper sold off some long positions in overnight business and then continued selling when the dollar extended its rally on Wednesday.
New York Mercantile Exchanges COMEX division Benchmark September copper slid 2.75 cents to $1.2580 a lb. Wednesdays trading range slipped to $1.2550 and $1.2855.
Spot July lost 2.50 cents to $1.2630 a lb. The rest of the board was quoted 1.95 to 2.65 cents lower. COMEX copper volume climbed to 6,000 lots by 1000 am EDT on Wednesday.