New York-traded copper eased losses early on Wednesday as a fresh slide in the dollar and recovery in US stocks pulled the red metal back from a near 4 percent plunge.
At 10:35 am (1535 GMT), the benchmark March copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division was down 7.0 cents, or 2.2 percent, at $3.1265 a lb in open outcry trading. It had tumbled as much as 11.8 cents to $3.0785 a lb earlier.
"Copper is still suffering some liquidation, but it is improving," said Sterling Smith, vice president at Chicago commodity futures brokerage FuturesOne. "As long as it can hold $3 a lb, it shouldn't do too much damage." Prices of copper, often described as a real measure of the economy, have endured sharper slides than rebounds in recent sessions as Wall Street and other stock markets took a pounding on growing fears that the United States may slip into a recession.
At 10:45 am, Wall Street's key index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was down 1.24 percent, after falling as much as 2.2 percent earlier.
Volume in Comex copper was estimated at 10,153 lots and options at 9 lots by 10 am. Open interest was up 1,593 lots at 84,796 lots at Tuesday's close. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three-months was at $6,970 a tonne in open outcry trade, down $50 from its close on Tuesday.
In industry news, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc said Wednesday copper demand in the United States from non-residential construction and other uses remained relatively strong. Chinese demand for the metal also has grown strongly, Chief Executive Richard Adkerson told a conference call, adding that world inventories were down slightly from a year ago.