Metalnewsnet 24 Mar:

Copper prices were little changed in New York, paring earlier losses after a report showed better- than-expected sales of existing U.S. homes last month.

Purchases dropped 0.6 percent to a 5.02 million annual rate, a National Association of Realtors report showed. Economists were expecting a 1.1 percent decline, according to the median of 74 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Copper prices have surged 84 percent in the past year as the global economy recovered from the worst recession since World War II.

“Homes sales came in better than people were expecting, so that has helped lend support to copper,” said Donald Selkin, the chief market strategist at National Securities Corp. in New York. “The overall picture for demand is still fairly good.”

Copper for May delivery was little changed, falling 0.15 cent to $3.379 a pound on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the metal fell as much as 0.7 percent and gained as much as 0.9 percent.

Builders are the biggest users of the metal, putting about 400 pounds (181 kilograms) into the average home for wiring and pipes, according to the Copper Development Association.

Prices fluctuated between gains and losses, tracking movements in the dollar. Some traders buy commodities as alternative assets as the greenback weakens.

“The metals markets seems to lack direction at the moment,” Alex Heath, the head of industrial metals trading at RBC Capital Markets, said in a report.

Falling Inventories

Copper may gain as falling inventories signaled stronger demand, said Eliane Tanner, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich. Warehouse stockpiles tallied by the London Metal Exchange fell for a 15th day to 520,675 metric tons, the lowest level since Jan. 12.

“We are still positive on the complex, first of all because of the decline in inventories on the LME,” Tanner said. “We also expect the economic recovery to continue, so we expect demand to pick up.”

Copper for delivery in three months fell 0.1 percent to $7,440 a metric ton ($3.38 a pound) at 6:54 p.m. on the LME. Nickel and tin rose. Aluminum, lead and zinc dropped.

(From Bloomberg)