NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - U.S. copper futures ended quietly lower on
Thursday, consolidating within familiar trading ranges and pressured at the
upper end of the range by a slight rebound in the dollar and a seven-month
peak in inventories.
For detailed report on global copper markets, click on [MET/L]
* Copper for December delivery HGZ9 fell 1.85 cents to close at
$2.9475 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
* Range from $3.0010 to $2.93, lowest level since Nov. 6.
* COMEX estimated futures volume at 39,445 lots by 1 p.m. EST (1800
GMT). Final volume on Wednesday hit 43,732 lots.
* Open interest rose 2,722 lots to 146,588 contracts as of Nov. 11.
* Copper weakens under currency-related selling pressure after
lower-than-expected initial weekly jobless claims data boosts dollar.
[USD/]
* Initial state jobless benefit claims fell to 502,000 in the latest
week from a revised 514,000 in the prior week, and against a consensus
forecast for initial claims of 510,000 - The U.S. Labor Department.
[ID:nOAT004353] [ID:nN11377609]
* Copper price trend remains higher as market ignores demand weakness
outside of China and build-up in inventory levels - John Gross, publisher
of the Copper Journal.
* London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouse stocks climbed 4,800 tonnes on
Thursday, bringing total levels to 402,125 tonnes, their highest since late
April. <O#LME-STOCKS>
* COMEX copper warehouse stocks jumped 1,374 short tons to 67,986 short
tons as of Wednesday. CMWSU
* Signs of economic improvement not translating into higher copper
demand in Europe and the United states - Richard Adkerson, chief executive
officer with Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold (FCX.N). [ID:nLC478998]
* Chile's state copper think tank, Cochilco, raised its copper price
forecast for 2010 to an average of $2.70 per lb from $2.10 per lb.
[ID:nN11362004]
* China's October copper imports slumped 34 percent from a month
earlier. [ID:nHKG297266]
* China's factory output growth up at a 19-month high. [ID:nPEK212006]
* Copper supported by worker strike at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a
unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources (VED.L). [ID:nLB669456]
* LME three-month copper MCU3 ended down $37 at $6,503 a tonne.
(Reporting by Chris Kelly; Editing by John Picinich)
