Copper holds steady ahead of ADP data

Copper marked little gain on Wednesday and remained mainly steady in expectation for the ADP data, scheduled for release later today. The ADP Employment Change indicator for May is supposed to surge to 165 000, up from 119 000 in the preceding month. Unit Labour Costs and and Non-Farm Productivity are expected to remain unchanged.

Also on todays schedule, Factory Orders for April forecasts indicate a 1.5% gain, up from a revised 4.9% decrease in March. The Energy Information Administrations Crude Oil Reserves indicator should show a 800 000 barrels decrease, according to an analyst survey by Bloomberg.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for July delivery traded at $3.373 a pound at 10:06 GMT, up 0.10% on the day.

Data on Monday showed that the activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in six months. The ISM Manufacturing index mismatched predictions by 1.7% and plunged below the neutral level of 50. The value for May stands at 49, significantly below the 50,7 reading for the previous month and the forecast of 50,7. This dampened expectations for a premature Quantitave Easing slowdown, but also brought some concerns about demand as the U.S. is the worlds second biggest copper consumer.

However, prices were supported by Chinas positive manufacturing PMI reading. According to the Chinese government’s official report on Saturday, the country’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.8, which exceeded the 50,6 forecast. This brought signs of stabilizing growth. Copper traders consider shifts in China’s PMI reading as one of the main factors that influence copper prices. The metal is widely used in the Asian nation’s manufacturing sector. China accounts for around 40% of global demand.

Prices also found support amid concerns of reduced global supply as the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which belongs to Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, is going to be shut down for three months, following fatal accidents.