Copper futures in New York recouped some early losses on Thursday, as prices neared the lower end of their wide trading band and speculative interest continued to exit the market, sources said.
By 10:28 am EDT (1428 GMT), copper for December delivery was down 3.00 cents at $3.38 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, dealing between $3.3350 and $3.4275.
For the past three months, the benchmark December copper contract has been mired in a wide trading range, roughly between $3.20 and $3.70, with concerns of a deteriorating macroeconomic picture limiting the upside. Spot October slipped 7.00 cents to an early session low at $3.33.
COMEX copper volume at 10:00 am was estimated at 5,000 lots. Customs data showed that China's copper imports continued to contract in the first nine months of the year due to higher prices for the red metal.
Official preliminary data for September showed imports of copper, including semi-finished products, fell 23.6 percent to 1.52 million tonnes in the first nine months. In September, imports of copper, including semi-finished products, stood at 174,931 tonnes. The figure was 5.2 percent less than one month earlier.