Base Metals Expected to Recover

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Base metals opened marginally higher Monday and could recover from Friday's losses as economic data across the U.S. and Europe is expected to be moderate. Gains could be limited, however, as the dollar continues to trade higher and economic weakness persists. Major economic data releases lined up for Monday include the Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index for July, which is estimated to come in at a negative 0.1 vs. negative 0.63 recorded in June. BHP Billiton BHP and Rio Tinto RTP gained in the early hours of trading Monday on optimism that the mining tax on iron ore and coal in Australia could be scrapped. Copper Copper for three-month delivery rose 0.6% to $7,295 on the London Metal Exchange. The drawdown in LME copper was 1,800 tonnes to 401,725 tonnes Friday. The metal faces support and resistance at $7,252 and $7,313, respectively. For the seventh consecutive month in July, copper wire and cable shipments from Japan escalated 2.9% to 59,700 metric tons as the country's export economy grew. Copper cable shipments for the country's auto sector were up 11% year over year in July, while the electronics industry reported a 24% increase. Southern Copper SCCO, which closed at $29.40 in the previous trading session, finds support at $29.05 and resistance at $29.60. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold FCX closed at $71.37 with support and resistance at $70.50 and $71.99, respectively. Teck Resources TCK closed at $32.75 with support at $32.47 and resistance at $32.97. To read the rest, head over to TheStreet.com