COMEX copper futures ended above a key technical level for the second day in a row on Friday, which traders said augurs well for its near-term outlook despite mixed messages from economic readings.
"Fundamentally, it looks OK, but technically copper looks great. This is a tremendous settlement today and a very big week for copper. Look for higher prices next week," said Pioneer Futures' Scott Meyers, senior trading analyst.
On Thursday and again on Friday, December copper futures finished at highs above the $1.30 per lb psychological level on technical charts, a level last seen on August 17.
Benchmark December copper eked out a last-minute gain to $1.3020 a lb, up 0.05 cent, in $1.29 to $1.3090 range.
Spot September closed 0.40 cent higher at $1.3020 a lb, with the rest finishing 0.10 to 1.10 cents higher.
While support held, one trader said he thinks copper will have to go down before it can go up again. "We got a gap down to $1.2860 (a lb on December futures) and copper tends to fill the gaps. So some people may not be too anxious to run it on the upside. $1.2860 to $1.29 will fill the gap. That may have attracted some sellers," he said.
Checks with numerous official sources in the U.K. and Mexico, as well as with the US Coast Guard's emergency number for the Gulf Coast, turned up nothing.
"A ship of that size in trouble would have set off all kinds of alarm bells and we've heard nothing at all," said the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area Command Center.
London Metal Exchange three-months copper finished the Friday evening kerb at $2,815 a tonne, down from its close Thursday at $2,823 a tonne.
The range probed higher from $2,800 to $2,836 a tonne.