By Leia Michele Toovey- Exclusive to Copper Investing News

Volatile copper prices fell more than 2 per cent before turning positive on Thursday. 

The U.S. dollar retreated to its lowest point relative the euro in six weeks, making the metal less expensive for international holders. U.S. copper futures turned positive, copper for March delivery HGH9 moved up 1.85 cents, or 1.24 per cent, to $1.5140 per lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX division at. COMEX copper stocks stood even at 18,306 short tons as of Tuesday.

Copper gains were capped by economic growth concerns as the U.S. automaker rescue plan faced senate challenges.  LME price of copper for three-month delivery MCU3 climbed up to $3,313 a tonne from $3,305 a tonne at Wednesday’s close. London Metal Exchange (LME) copper warehouse stocks lost 750 tonnes to 302,850 tonnes on Thursday

Copper fell in Asia on speculation that demand in China, the largest consumer of the metal, will slow further. Consumer prices in the world’s fourth-largest economy rose 2.4 per cent in November, the slowest pace in almost two years, the statistics bureau said today. Imports of copper and copper products slid 6 percent to 217,214 metric tons from October.

After months of negative news, it appears that the end may be in sight. Recently, futures have been climbing up.  One analyst said in a report the worst of the commodity cycle would be experienced in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.  Another analyst has been quoted saying “Despite a recessionary slowdown, the long-term outlook for energy still remains positive.”  A slew of good market news came in this week; the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1.2 per cent to 899.22, with producers of energy and raw materials leading gains among 10 industry groups. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets rose 1.3 per cent to 899.09. The S&P 500 extended its rebound from an 11-year low to 21 per cent this week, marking a technical end to a 14-month bear market, as President-elect Barack Obama stepped up proposals to pull the economy out of a recession.

Company news

Pan Pacific Copper Co Ltd, Japan’s top copper smelter, will cut runs 10 per cent in January-March and may increase that to 20 per cent depending on when economic conditions improve. With the 10 per cent cut, Pan Pacific’s copper production in the six months to the end of March will amount to 295,000 tonnes, compared to initial plans of 310,600 tonnes announced in October. Pan Pacific has an annual copper production capacity of about 610,000 tonnes.

Suffering from sharply lower copper prices the past several months, Kennecott Utah Copper is preparing to reduce its Utah work force as part of a plan by its London-based parent company to eliminate 14,000 positions worldwide. The Kennecott Utah Copper Mine is the biggest open pit copper mine in the world, and is owned by mining giant Rio Tinto. Out of the 2,400 people employed in Utah, it has not been announced how many will be let go. The lay-offs are just one step involved in Rio Tinto’s goals to eliminate nearly $40 billion in debt and reduce operating costs by $2.5 billion a year by 2010.

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