Copper futures in New York traded on either side of unchanged in early business on Friday, with traders eyeing a short-term resistance point that could push the market higher if breached, they said.
"For the past couple of days, $3.52 (a lb) even has been a number on the upside that we can't seem to break. We are right on it now so if we can get through that point, maybe we can see a little breakout on the upside. The funds have been quiet and out of the market, but eventually they will have to come back in. We're going to need to move a little more than this to see that," said one COMEX floor dealer.
By 10:25 am EDT (1425 GMT) copper for December delivery was down 0.45 cent at $3.5050 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, ranging from $3.4935 to $3.52. Spott October was flat at $3.4885 COMEX copper volume at 10:00 am was estimated at only 3,000 lots.