BASE METALS: Comex Copper Ends Higher After Quiet Day

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) - Copper futures ended slightly higher in low volume trading Tuesday, traders sought the evolution of Japan's nuclear complex problems and international intervention in civil conflict in Libya.
The most actively traded contract for May delivery, closed up 2.7 cents, or 0.6% to U.S. $ 4.3130 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The low price contract for March delivery settled up 2.8 cents, or 0.7% to 4.3035 dollars per pound. The March contract expires March 29.
Copper trading volumes have declined over the last three trading days as traders struggle to quantify the impact of geopolitical risk in the copper market.
"Not much action at all ... not have enough information to reach a firm conclusion, "said Ralph Preston, an analyst at Heritage West Financial Inc.
Japan nuclear plant problems continued to dominate the attention of copper traders. The authorities reported six nuclear reactors have been reconnected to the mains. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex was severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March and since then the authorities have struggled to keep the reactor from overheating and releasing dangerous amounts of radiation. The authorities are now checking the damage to cooling systems, hoping to restore the cooling function of the complex and to avoid the threat of collapse.
Attention is shifting to the reconstruction effort. Much of the east coast was decimated by natural disaster, and the hopes of higher than expected Japanese demand for copper have lifted copper prices from their recent lows.
However, the increases are at least partially offset by lower copper demand from Japanese automakers, many of which have been extended downtime following the natural disaster. Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles by sales, said it would keep the domestic assembly lines closed until Saturday, losing about 140,000 vehicles. Honda Motor Co. said its exit from the suspension until Wednesday adds to a production loss of 27,000 vehicles.
"Many traders are not sure which way to go about things. We're not seeing a lot of posts placed on the market, "said Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading.
Meanwhile, the allied air strikes against Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi forces continued Tuesday. The Security Council last week approved a resolution to use all necessary means to enforce an air exclusion zone over Libya and avoid further civilian casualties from attacks by Gaddafi addressed.
The crude oil market has welcomed the intervention of the Western coalition in Libya, with oil prices retreating to $ 103.69 a barrel recently, from highs of $ 106.95 earlier this month. High energy prices threaten economic growth and are considered a burden on copper prices.
"Clearly, we have priced in all the situations there, and we are waiting for the next catalyst," said Lesh.
Copper futures have ignored the influence of damping weaker than expected following Monday's U.S. home sales data.
"Despite one of the largest depressions U.S. housing history, the copper market remains difficult," said Walter de Wet, chief commodities strategist at Standard Bank in a note to clients . The bank estimates a shortage of copper around 385,000 metric tons this year.
Copper stocks, considered an indicator of the physical demands of the metal, there was a net increase of entries in London Metal Exchange warehouses in the list topped a small outlet stores Comex-list. Copper stocks in LME added 3,850 metric tons to take the total to 434 stocks. 350 metric tons, meanwhile, Comex copper stocks fell by 21 short tons to 84,486 short tons.