NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. copper futures ended down a shade on
Thursday, as prices paused after hitting fresh one-month highs overnight
and found support from strong growth figures from China, the world's
leading consumer of the metal.
For detailed report on global copper markets, click on [MET/L]
* Copper for September delivery <HGU9> ended down 0.25 cent at $2.3895
a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
* Range from $2.3570 to $2.41 -- highest level since June 12.
* Extremely bullish W-formation on the charts, with initial resistance
seen at $2.45. Support pegged at $2.1860 - Larry Young, senior trader at
Infinity Futures Inc. in Chicago.
* COMEX estimated futures volume at 16,030 lots by 1 p.m. EDT (1700
GMT). Final volume on Wednesday at 27,357 lots.
* Open interest up 2,265 lots at 108,533 contracts as of July 15.
* Copper market takes breather from strong weekly rally that saw prices
climb over 10 percent to one-month high above $2.40 per lb - Tom Hartman,
broker with Altavest Worldwide Trading in Mission Viejo, California.
* Market underpinned by Chinese growth story - Hartman.
* 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]
* Strong Chinese growth numbers offset mixed data from the U.S., that
showed a key regional manufacturing index contract more than expected in
July and a plunge in weekly jobless claims figures. [ID:nN16398331]
* Foreclosure filings jumped to a record 1.9 million on more than 1.5
million properties in the first half of 2009 - RealtyTrac. [ID:nN15368203]
* 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> shed $3 to close at
$5,260 a tonne.
* 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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