US copper futures climbed at the open on Tuesday, on the heels of new record peaks for zinc and copper in London, while a stronger-than-expected rise in core US producer prices seemed to keep a lid on the advance, sources said.
By 10:23 am EST (1523 GMT), copper for May delivery was trading up 2.00 cents at $2.3540 a lb, on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, dealing between $2.3285 and $2.3750.
On Monday, the benchmark May contract set a new life-of-contract high at $2.40 in overnight electronic ACCESS trade. One technician pegged resistance in May copper at $2.37 to $2.38 a lb, with support seen at $2.2725. Spot March was up 2.10 cents at its early session low at $2.3650.