COMEX copper tried to find its bearings in positive territory when the dollar fell sharply in reaction to startlingly weak US July payrolls, with economic slowing implied by the paltry jobs creation putting US economic strength into question, traders said.
With the US labour numbers well below expectations, one analyst said it was the kind of report "capable of altering the landscape."
"There was some reaction by copper, but not as profound as we saw with the dollar and gold. And I think that's not unusual. Typically, copper will catch up by the end of the day," said one copper trader.
Active September copper traded around 0.40 cent firmer at $1.2840 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchanges COMEX division. The day's range ran from $1.2730 to $1.2920. Spot August rose 0.50 cent to $1.2890 and next most-active December gained 0.85 to $1.2640.