Investing.com - Copper futures swung between small gains and losses on Monday, as market players awaited a series of key economic events later in the week for further indications on the strength of the U.S. economy.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for September delivery eased up 0.03%, or 0.1 cents, to trade at $3.242 a pound during European morning hours. Prices held in a tight range between $3.226 and $3.251 a pound.
Copper ended Friday’s session down 0.8%, or 2.6 cents, to settle at $3.240. Futures were likely to find support at $3.202, the low from July 24 and resistance at $3.279 a pound, the high from July 25.
Wednesday’s preliminary estimate on second quarter U.S. economic growth and Friday’s U.S. jobs report for July were both expected to indicate that the economic recovery is continuing.
Market participants were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement due on Wednesday, amid speculation over when the central bank may start to raise interest rates.
Data released earlier showed that profit at industrial companies in China increased by 17.9% in June from a year earlier, after gaining 8.9% in May, fuelling optimism over the health of the world's second largest economy.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery picked up 0.15%, or $1.90, to trade at $1,307.30 a troy ounce, while silver for September delivery tacked on 0.25%, or 5.2 cents, to trade at $20.68 an ounce.
Investors reassessed the geopolitical situation in the Middle East after Hamas and Israel agreed to a 24-hour humanitarian truce on Sunday.
U.S. President Barack Obama had called for a ceasefire between the two sides, but there was no indication of any comprehensive deal to end the fighting.
Meanwhile, traders awaited new developments from Ukraine, where tensions between Russia and the West over escalating violence in the eastern part of the country remained high.