MARKET TALK: LME Copper May Correct But Hold Above $7,400

LME 3-month copper needs to consolidate short term, likely to pull back toward $7,400/ton, says trader at Japanese brokerage. LME 3-month copper last at $7,775/ton, +$450 on London Thursday PM kerb; up 11.6% in last week, up 48% since hitting 9-month low Feb 2. Trader says LME copper seeing fresh fund long buying, market may already be long, contrary to Comex copper data which shows funds are net short; but may not mean market's nearing peak. "The market must be long but we're not quite sure if it's overbought yet." Adds copper rally driven by fund, speculative buying trying to push copper higher despite lack of strong fundamental news; China copper import data not particularly strong, recent strong U.S. jobs data offset by sluggishness of U.S. housing sector.