US MIDDAY: copper eases

In New York, the active May COMEX contract eased 3 cents to settle at $3.903 per lb, down from $3.9315 per lb on Thursday, with only 39,000 lots traded so far on the day, well below average levels. Analysts said the direction for the weeks ahead will be driven by macroeconomic data but investors will look for signs of any increase in copper demand from China which might eat into some of the surplus material washing around the market.
"They are now waiting for China's economic data and copper import data for more clues, but today the dollar is putting a peg on the uptrend we have seen in the last few days," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.