COPPER

The biggest churning in copper market will be seen in the coming days as employees at Chile's biggest copper mine of Codelco, owned by the government, went on a strike this week. The Chuquicamata mine in northern Chile is one of the world's largest open-pit operations and it produces about half of Codelco's output. Codelco as a whole produces about 4 per cent of the world's copper. With production in Chile's main mine hit by the strike, copper market is all set to hot up in the coming days.

U.S. copper futures tiptoed into positive territory Tuesday morning, after a steep drop in U.S. pending home sales dragged the dollar down and an increase in factory orders bolstered recovery hopes in the manufacturing sector.

Oil rose to $81 a barrel on Monday, the highest in more than two months, on news that Russia has halted oil supplies to Belarus and on cold weather in the United States.

U.S. copper was up half percent to 16-month highs on Thursday as fund buying and a looming mine strike in Chile put the red metal on course for a 140 percent gain this year, its best in at least 20 years.

In China's latest bid to acquire resource assets abroad, two Chinese firms have offered $650 million for Canadian miner Corriente Resources Ltd. China Railway Construction Corp and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co announced the all-cash $650 million offer this week.

U.S. copper futures strengthened to near 15-month highs Thursday morning, driven by extended losses in the dollar,supply threats in Chile, and pre-holiday momentum buying. For detailed report on global copper markets, click on [MET/L]

Copper output in Zambia, Africa's largest producer of the metal, rose to 573,405 tonnes between January and October this year, compared with 480,665 tonnes in the same period last year, the central bank said on Tuesday

U.S. copper futures ended in positive territory on Friday, recovering from an earlier slide to one-week lows with chart-based buying and firmer outside market support outweighing the bearish impact of a rising dollar.

U.S. copper futures ended with sharp losses on Thursday as a stronger tone in the dollar sparked a bearish drag across the broader complex, and analysts said the shift in momentum could pull prices of the red metal back down toward $3.00 a lb.

U.S. copper futures remained lower into Thursday's close, after setting a fresh two-week low, with a rise in the dollar inspiring more investors to sell and take end-of-year profits, traders said.

U.S. copper futures slipped more than 1 percent in early business on Tuesday, as global credit concerns resurfaced and prompted investors to seek safety in the dollar.

Mining group Xstrata plans to boost capital spending next year by 89 percent to $6.8 billion to expand output and is considering whether to close or sell any of its four profit-squeezed copper smelters.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc said Wednesday it has decided to move forward on three deferred copper mining projects, citing a positive outlook for its metal markets and its ability to manage costs during the global economic downturn.

The early contract deal BHP Billiton offered its employees at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's biggest, meets workers needs, the head of the union, Zeiso Mercado, told Reuters on Friday.

U.S. copper futures bounced from one-month lows Friday morning, as a weaker dollar and rising consumer sentiment underpinned prices and countered weaker-than-expected durable goods and housing data.

U.S. copper futures fell before steadying at slightly lower levels Thursday morning, under pressure from a steadier dollar and down even as latest labor, housing and manufacturing data provided further evidence of recovery.

NEW YORK - U.S. copper futures headed higher at the open on Tuesday, after upbeat reports of rising retail sales and producer prices reinforced optimistic views about the economic recovery.

U.S. copper futures ended lower on Monday, after hitting their lowest levels in nearly two weeks, as a steadier tone in the dollar and worries about recent supply builds and moderating import levels in China combined to drag prices down for the fourth straight session.

U.S. copper futures closed down on Thursday, as prices extended a phase of consolidation below the $3.00 a lb level and fell under the weight of renewed concerns about near-term demand prospects, analysts said.

U.S. copper futures lost more than 3 percent of their value Thursday morning as prices continued to correct further away from the psychological $3.00 a lb level amid a broader sell-off in the industrial metals complex.

U.S. copper futures slumped to a 1-1/2 week low Wednesday morning, as further losses in global equity markets overnight continued to undermine confidence in the economic recovery and weak U.S. jobs data added to the weight of the move.