COMEX copper futures ended a holiday-shortened session higher on Friday, supported by US economic data and traders' jitters over a possible strike at a Canadian copper refinery over the weekend, dealers said.
Active July copper rose 0.45 cent to $1.2775 a lb, after trading from $1.2660 to $1.2850, and briefly touching a five-week high. Spot June gained 0.50 cent to $1.2780, and later dates finished 0.80 cent to 1.25 cents higher.
Trading wrapped up early at about noon and the market will be shut Monday in observance of the US Memorial Day holiday. The London market will be shut Monday as well for a bank holiday.
Copper prices firmed into the close, buoyed by US economic reports. But traders said the market sought further direction from the foreign exchange and from labour developments this weekend at a Montreal East copper refinery.
"Everyone is waiting for the following things: Is there going to be a strike at Noranda? That's the big kahuna in copper. And then, which way is the dollar going?," one New York futures broker said.
The deadline is May 30 for a new contract at Noranda Inc.'s CCR plant, where union workers have approved a strike mandate. CCR supplies about 1.5 percent of the world's copper.
Though talks were ongoing, copper has been sensitive to the strike threat as world supplies are tight and demand strong.
Comments
Comments are closed.