MARKET TALK: LME Copper Seen Under Pressure, Risk Of Slide

Pressure by a large fund on LME copper to shake out long positions is seen continuing, says a broker. "The market is very wary of it. Usually fund activity of that nature isn't just for one day," he adds. Weakness in copper is seen spilling into the rest of the complex, with support at $7,500/metric ton. A break by LME nickel below $49,000/ton would trigger long liquidation and a sharp complex-wide slide, he adds. Conversely, a strong rally by nickel may offset copper weakness. LME copper is up 0.5% on the day at $7690/ton, nickel is up 0.5% on the day at $49,300/ton, zince is down 1.3% at $3895/ton, tin is down 0.7% at $13950/ton, lead is down 0.5% at $2,065/ton, aluminum is flat at $2,830/ton.