US copper futures shot up to new all-time highs in early business Wednesday, on the heels of London's hurdle of $8,000 a tonne, although trading conditions were light, prompting the funds to sit on the sidelines, sources said.
"We were due 7.00 cents higher after the gains made in London, but we really didn't go anywhere from there. The light volume is moving this market around. The locals are making it impossible to be long this market right now, so a lot of the funds are just staying out of it," said one COMEX floor dealer.
The benchmark July copper contract was up 5.90 cents, or 1.64 percent, at $3.6550 a lb by 10:37 am EDT (1437 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. Trading ranged from $3.5950 to a new life-of-contract peak at $3.6745.
Spot May climbed 6.90 cents at $3.7650, after rallying to a new all-time COMEX record at $3.7765 a lb. COMEX copper volume at 10 am was estimated at only 4,000 lots.