very strong in london and huge volume , page-19

re: copper news Copper futures fell to their lowest level in nearly a month Wednesday after a
large build was reported in London Metal Exchange inventories, yet prices held
above support levels to avoid even heavier selling, analysts and traders said.

The most-active March copper contract fell 6.15 cents to settle at $3.0330
per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

LME authorities reported a build of 4,600 metric tons in warehouse stocks,
leaving them at 171,300 metric tons.

"The continued increase in visible stocks is putting pressure on the market.
There is no doubt about that," said one trader.

The futures have been trending sideways to lower for some time, related Darin
Newsom, senior analyst with DTN.

The supply/demand fundamentals no longer appear as bullish as earlier in the
year when copper prices hit all-time highs, he related. This is indicative by
the fact that the nearby months no longer have the big premium over the
deferred that they enjoyed earlier in the year, he explained.

"The speculative side is remaining short. They are still bearish this
market," said Newsom.

In fact, the most recent Commitments of Traders data showed the large
non-commercials - essentially the funds - were net short in copper by 17,082
lots as of Dec. 5.

"Copper continues to slowly grind a little bit lower - not to the point where
it breaks through key support and attracts all types of renewed investment
selling or those looking short the market," said Newsom. "But it also has been
able to post any type of (sustained) rally for some time now."

He put support for nearby December right around $3 a pound and support for
most-active March around the $3.0150 area. During Wednesday's pit session, the
March futures fell as far as $3.0260, their lowest level since $3.0130 on Nov.
17.

Newsom put farther-away support for March at $2.7770, the low from mid-June
that has not been retested since.

The futures left an open-outcry chart gap between Tuesday's low of $3.09 and
the session high so far of $3.0650. After gapping lower, however, the market
was largely sideways for the rest of the session in quiet trading conditions,
said one trader.

In copper news, the World Bureau of Metals Statistics reported that the
global copper surplus during the first 10 months of 2006 was 306,000 metric
tons, up one-third on the forecast during the previous month.

The market is monitoring a couple of labor situations in the key producing
nation of Chile. Workers and management at Xstrata's Altonorte copper smelter
have begun talks aimed at avoiding a strike next week. They are in a five-day
goodwill mediation period, which pushed back the possible strike date to Dec.
18. Also, Codelco and three large unions representing workers in its Norte
division are in talks ahead of an end-of-the-year contract expiry.

The most recent Comex stocks data, released late Tuesday afternoon, were
steady at 32,651 short tons.