Copper edges lower in cautious trade; ECB, China trade data eyed

Investing.com - Copper futures edged lower to hit a three-day low during European morning trade on Wednesday, as sentiment remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank's meeting on Thursday and China's trade numbers due on Friday.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery traded at USD3.750 a pound during European morning trade, down 0.5% on the day.

New York-traded copper prices traded in between a range of USD3.744 a pound, the daily low and a session high of USD3.783 a pound.

Sentiment remained cautious as investors looked ahead to the outcome of Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting.

The ECB was widely expected to keep rates unchanged at 0.75%, while a post-policy meeting press conference by President Mario Draghi would be closely watched for indications on the future direction of monetary policy.

Copper traders were also anticipating China's trade numbers due out on Friday for more clues on the health of the world’s largest copper consumer.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.3% to trade at 79.82, the highest level since January 29.

A stronger dollar reduces demand for raw materials as an alternative investment and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

In supply news, copper output from Chile’s Escondida mine in 2012 rose almost 32% from a year earlier to 1.076 million tonnes compared with 817,700 tonnes in strike-hit 2011.
 
Escondida, which is majority owned by global mining giant BHP Billiton, is the world’s largest copper mine.

Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for April delivery dipped 0.15% to trade at USD1,670.95 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery fell 0.6% to trade at USD31.68 a troy ounce.