SHANGHAI, Dec. 29 (SMM) –The LME will resume trading on Tuesday. Market attention will focus on home price index of 20 major cities in the US in October and the Conference Board’s December consumer confidence index. 

Trading will wane as the New Year holiday is just around the corner. Crude oil prices returned to declines overnight. Should crude oil prices continue falling today, more longs will withdraw from base metals markets. US economic data are expected to be positive, which will support the US dollar while putting pressure on base metals prices. 

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index looks set to rise to the year’s highest in October. Data released earlier showed that US existing home sales fell the sharpest in regions where home price rose the fastest. This suggests that rising home prices cooled willingness to buy home. Limited stocks were another constraint on home sales. 

Consumer confidence indexes released by other two institutes were positive in December. As such, the Conference Board’s December consumer confidence index should be positive as well. The IBD’s consumer confidence index rose sharply from November in December, and the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index also beat forecast and preliminary reading in December.