SHANGHAI, Feb. 25 (SMM) –The US jobless claims fell to 391,000 in the week ending February 19, better than the projections. The data is the only one with favorable results, and other figures were all negative. The mixed economic data depressed the US dollar, and the euro rose to a 3-week high against the US dollar. Investors are still worried about the possible spread of unrest in Libya into other major oil-producing countries, and rising energy prices will in turn drag down the economic growth. In this context, crude oil prices fluctuated sharply, with prices falling back after climbing above USD 100/bbl. LME copper inventories were up 975 mt to set a new high since July 2010, but a weaker US dollar helped narrow price declines in the LME copper market, with solid support available at the 60-day moving averages, despite of falling as low as USD 9,311/mt. Finally, LME copper prices closed at USD 9,515/mt, ending in positive territory, the first time since this week, but prices fell by nearly 7% from the peak level of USD 10,190/mt seen a week earlier.

During Friday's Asian trading hours, the US dollar index is expected to move between 77.0-77.4, and LME copper prices will fluctuate in the USD 9,470-9,580/mt range, and SHFE three-month copper contract prices will fluctuate between RMB 71,500-72,750/mt.

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