Copper futures started higher early Wednesday with firm London prices, but gave up those gains and turned lower after the US growth pace rose by less than forecast in the second quarter, traders said.
Many players, too, opted out of trade as they waited for updates about the decimation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, benchmark December copper fell 1.00 cent to $1.6370 a lb., in a range spanning $1.6330 to $1.6530 a lb.
Spot September copper was down earlier, but turned up 0.35 cent to $1.7130 a lb. on light buying. The range ran from $1.7010 to $1.7250 a lb. COMEX estimated copper volume at 3,000 lots by 10 am EDT.