US copper futures rose in early trade on Friday, stemming a three-day price-slide, as technical buying and record lows in the dollar overshadowed rising visible supplies, analysts said. Edward Meir, metals analyst with MF Global, expected metals to end the week on a firmer note, with the sliding dollar-overriding inventory builds in London and Shanghai.
"Copper is being pressure by rising stocks, but the weaker dollar and a generally firmer commodity complex, should, in our view, more than compensate," Meir said in a note to clients.
Copper for December delivery was trading up 1.35 cents to $3.5550 a lb by 10:23 am EDT (1423 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division, moving in an early band between $3.5280 and $3.5730. Copper stockpiles in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses increased nine percent in the week ending Thursday to 63,895 tonnes from 58,560 tonnes a week ago.
Fundamentally, an 11-week old strike at Mexico's massive Cananea copper pit continued to offer support. Grupo Mexico, the Mexico City-based mining and transport giant that owns Cananea, said on Thursday it had no plans to restart talks with the union and was still fighting to have the strike declared illegal in the courts.