US copper futures moved into positive territory early Tuesday, rebounding from earlier technical losses and showcasing a resiliency to climb in the face of a worrisome economic outlook in the United States, traders said.
"Yesterday, we hit a 'buy' and a 'sell' signal, so it was kind of a sign of indecisiveness," said Larry Young, senior trader at Infinity Futures Inc in Chicago.
"It was a key day for us by hitting both sides. It took out the higher highs and made new contract highs but then reversed, so that could be a sign that people are booking profits or just trying to gain momentum to challenge that high again."
Copper for March delivery was trading up 1.00 cent to $3.7495 a lb by 10:56 am EST (1556 GMT) at the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division, near the upper band of its early $3.6670 to $3.7570 session range.
On Monday, March copper hit a new contract- and 21-month high of $3.8495 in electronic business. That bested last week's high of $3.8465, but set in place new technical resistance for the market to overcome.
"We have what we construe to be a double-top here, so from a technical standpoint, we could be looking for a further pull-back or another challenge to that high," Young said. Most-active May copper was up 0.05 cent to $3.7575. Futures volumes were estimated at 8,021 lots by 10 am. Further evidence that the US housing market was far from hitting a bottom failed to keep the bulls silent.