US copper futures were little changed early Friday in a shortened session ahead of the holiday weekend, directed by moves in the dollar and firmer equity markets, sources said.
"I think the overseas stock markets have relieved some of the concerns in terms of the market and brought back some short-covering going into the weekend, along with some profit-taking," said Steve Platt, an analyst with Archer Financials in Chicago.
By 10:38 am EDT (1438 GMT), copper for July delivery was down 0.75 cent at $3.70 per lb, dealing between $3.6610 and $3.76. Spot May lost 2.15 cents to its early session low of $3.88. COMEX copper volume at 10:00 am was estimated at 5,000 lots. Copper market will be shut Monday for US Memorial Day.