Copper Futures Finish Lower on Profit-Taking and China Buying Fears

Copper futures experienced a decline on Wednesday as profit-taking and fears of reduced Chinese buying pressured the metal, despite holding support at $2 a pound and stabilizing as equities steadied. July copper fell 1.95 cents to settle at $2.0605 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Analysts attributed the decline to a potential shift in Chinese purchasing and long liquidation, but noted that the metal's uptrend remains intact.

Key Takeaways:

• Copper futures fell 1.95 cents to settle at $2.0605 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• Profit-taking and fears of reduced Chinese buying contributed to the decline, despite holding support at $2 a pound.
• Analysts noted that the metal's uptrend remains intact, with Michael Gross stating that copper still has a "fully intact uptrend."
• The long liquidation that has hit prices of late may be winding down, according to Sterling Smith, vice president with FuturesOne.
• Inventories of copper stored in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell 7,200 metric tons on Wednesday, leaving them at 450,100 tons.
• George Gero, vice president with RBC Capital Markets Global Futures, stated that "Copper is following the economy."

Statistics:

• July copper fell 1.95 cents to settle at $2.0605 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• Copper inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell 7,200 metric tons to 450,100 tons.
• The most recent Comex inventory data showed an increase of 63 short tons to 47,671 short tons.

Sources:

• Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex (Apr 22, 2009, 14:05 ET)
• Dow Jones Newswires (end of article)
• OptionSellers.com (Michael Gross, broker and futures analyst)
• Peak Trading Group (Charles Nedoss, senior account manager and metals analyst)
• FuturesOne (Sterling Smith, vice president)
• RBC Capital Markets Global Futures (George Gero, vice president)