LIVE FUTURES REPORT 07/08: Comex copper price starts week just in positive territory

Comex copper prices started the week on a solid footing although positive US employment data released at the end of last week is also providing support to the dollar.

Copper for September delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.05 cents or 0.3% to trade recently at $2.8955 per lb on the morning of Monday August 7.

In contrast, Comex gold for December settlement dipped by $2.20 or 0.2% to $1,262.40 per oz. Trading has ranged very narrowly from $1,261.30 to $1,265 so far.

On Friday, US data showed the country added 209,000 jobs in July, better than the expected reading of 182,000. Meanwhile, the June US trade deficit of $43.6 billion was a slight improvement on consensus of $43.9 billion.

Copper had spent most of last week in negative territory but its recovery more recently must contend with with a recovering dollar. The dollar index was recently at 93.48.

“The recent short-lived nature of price pressure suggests underlying sentiment remains bullish; however, prices are likely to be come increasingly volatile in the short term because speculative positioning has become extremely polarized,” Metal Bulletin analyst James Moore said.

Oil prices and data releases

  • In other commodities, the Texas light sweet crude oil spot price dipped 1.29% to $48.94 per barrel.
  • In data today, the UK’s Halifax house price index came in at 0.4%, a touch above the forecast of 0.3%. The EU Sentix investor confidence was roughly in line at 27.7.
  • Later, the USA’s monthly labour market conditions index and consumer credit data are due.