Copper Futures Falter on Profit-Taking and Weak Jobs Data

Copper futures took a downturn on January 4, 2008, due to profit-taking and weak non-farm payroll data, which came in short of Wall Street expectations. The most-active March copper contract settled at $3.1575 per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 3.05 cents from the previous day. Market analysts attributed the decline to profit-taking and the weaker-than-expected jobs data, which hinted at economic weakness.

Key Takeaways:

Copper futures fell 3.05 cents to settle at $3.1575 per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Non-farm payrolls rose 18,000 in December, missing Wall Street expectations for a 50,000 rise, and marked the job market's worst performance since August 2003.
Long liquidation as participants unwound buys made Thursday weighed on copper futures, a trader said.
Eric Wittenauer, analyst with A.G. Edwards, stated that copper futures could trend lower if economic data continue to point toward economic weakness.
Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with Future Path Trading, noted that weaker economic indicators are generally negative for the copper market.
Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 425 metric tons to 198,600, while Comex inventory data showed a decline of 226 short tons to 15,091 short tons.

Statistics:

Copper futures fell 3.05 cents to settle at $3.1575 per pound.
Non-farm payrolls rose 18,000 in December.
Inventory of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses rose 425 metric tons to 198,600.
Comex inventory data showed a decline of 226 short tons to 15,091 short tons.
Shanghai Futures Exchange data showed a decline of 1,449 metric tons to 24,148.

Sources:

Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex
Standard Bank research note
A.G. Edwards
Citigroup Global Markets
Future Path Trading
Dow Jones Newswires