NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. copper futures were soft in early
trade Thursday, consolidating Wednesday's rally to one-month highs and
holding at slightly lower levels despite strong growth figures from China,
the world's top copper consumer. For detailed report on global copper markets, click on [MET/L]
* Copper for September delivery <HGU9> eased 0.50 cent to $2.3870 a lb
by 10:14 a.m. EDT (1414 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX
division.
* Range from $2.3570 to $2.41 -- its highest level since June 12.
* COMEX estimated futures volume at 5,571 lots by 9 a.m.
* Copper steadies in profit-taking pause to strong weekly rally that
saw prices climb over 10 percent to a fresh one-month peak above $2.40 per
lb - Larry Young, senior trader at Infinity Futures Inc. in Chicago.
* Extremely bullish W-formation on the charts - Young.
* Initial resistance in September copper at $2.45. Support seen at
$2.1860 - Young.
* Copper under additional morning pressure after data showed factory
activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region contract for a 10th consecutive
month in July - The Philadelphia Federal reserve Bank [ID:nN16406468]
* Copper's losses slowed by global recovery hopes after data showed
China's economy grew faster than forecast in the second quarter.
* China's annual gross domestic product growth accelerated in the
second quarter to 7.9 percent from 6.1 percent in the first quarter - the
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [ID:nBJC000381] [ID:nSP537580]
* The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits
fell last week to their lowest level since January. [ID:nN15341123]
* Indonesia has increased security near Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold
Inc's <FCX.N> giant Grasberg mine following a wave of attacks in the area
in Papua, where secessionists have waged a low-level insurgency for
decades. [ID:nJAK518718]
* London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks <LME/STX1> down 225 tonnes at
at 260,875 tonnes on Thursday.
* COMEX copper stocks <CMWSU> flat at 59,251 short tons as of
Wednesday.
* Global copper market in a surplus of 90,000 tonnes in the January to
May period, compared with a deficit of 170,000 tonnes in the same period in
2008 - the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS). [ID:nL711666]
* LME copper for three-months delivery <MCU3> last traded at $5,235 a
tonne, down $28 from Wednesday's kerb close.
* Copper prices to climb to an average $5,135 a tonne in 2010, driven
by Chinese demand and growing optimism in the economic recovery - Reuters
poll. [ID:nSP489606]
(Reporting by Chris Kelly; Editing by John Picinich)
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