Investing.com - Copper futures held near an eight-month low struck in the previous session on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to a flurry of key U.S. economic data due later in the session.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for March delivery declined 1.5 cents, or 0.5% to trade at $2.963 a pound during European morning hours.
A day earlier, copper prices fell to $2.935 a pound, the lowest level since March 19, before settling at $2.977, down 2.8 cents, or 0.95%, amid mounting concerns over the health of the global economy.
Copper is sensitive to the economic growth outlook because of its widespread uses across industries.
Futures were likely to find support at $2.928, the low from March 19, and resistance at $3.024, the high from November 25.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a flurry of data ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, including reports on durable goods orders, unemployment claims, personal income and spending, as well as data on new and pending home sales and revised data on consumer sentiment.
Data on Tuesday showed that the U.S. economy posted growth of 3.9% in the three months to September, far higher than the initial estimate of 3.5%. Economists had forecast a small downward revision to 3.3%.
A separate report showed that consumer confidence index fell to a five-month low in November, one month after touching its highest level in seven years, as optimism over the short term outlook waned.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold futures for February delivery dipped $1.60, or 0.13%, to trade at $1,196.20 a troy ounce, while silver futures for March delivery declined 2.8 cents, or 0.17% to trade at $16.58 an ounce.
Gold prices are likely to remain vulnerable in the near-term amid indications a strengthening U.S. economic recovery will force the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates sooner and faster than previously thought.