New York copper futures gave up ground in a profit taking spree on Thursday, as speculators saw the opportunity to sell near the five-month highs reached a day earlier on strike actions in Peru, traders said.
But, they added that the latest sell-off should be viewed as short-term consolidation in a bull market. Copper for December delivery slipped on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division by 3.75 cents to $3.7260 a lb., pulling off the session high at $3.7585, and the peak hit late Wednesday at $3.78 a lb, a level last seen in early May.
Comex estimated 10:00 am EDT (1400 GMT) copper volume at 4,974 lots. Tuesday's open interest rose by 2,403 lots to 83,055. Peruvian workers maintained their work strike for a third day on Thursday at major copper producer Southern Copper. They said they would return to work if their demands for higher wages were met.
Southern Copper Chief Executive Oscar Gonzalez told Reuters that if the strike drags on, it could cut output by 10 percent for 2007. In Mexico, Grupo Mexico, which also controls Southern Copper, awaits a court ruling on the legality of a two-month-old strike at its sprawling Cananea copper pit. The ruling is expected late this week or Monday.