US copper futures fell before steadying on lower ground early Tuesday morning as a weaker tone in the dollar and strong Chinese industrial production data were seen limiting morning losses. Copper for July delivery was down 1.35 cents at $3.6520 per lb by 9:45 am EDT (1345 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division.
The morning range was from $3.6225 to $3.6870. A 16 percent increase in May Chinese industrial production from 2007, and compared with a 15.7 percent gain in April lifted investor optimism.