Inventories of refined copper, zinc and lead at Japanese producers in January increased from the previous month and stood well above the previous year's levels, data from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) showed.

Comex copper ends up on rollovers

Comex March copper ended higher on mixed trading with some short covering but mostly March-May rollover dealings, said traders. The March copper contract ended up 0.50 cent at 62.45 cents a lb, trading between 61.60 and 62.45 cents. The May contract settled at 63.40 cents a lb, up 0.50 cent.

"The market is very very oversold," said Michael Frawley, senior vice president of Carr Futures. "It is hard to find anyone who is bullish for any fundamental reason," he added. Much of the activity was focused on the March-May contract rollovers mixed with a smattering of short covering. "The market is primed for a little more short covering and we view it as a buying opportunity at these levels,"said Frawley. Support levels for the March contract are pegged at 60-61 cents.

US West Coast oil products slide

Prices of US West Coast oil products slid, dragged down by sinking futures and uncertainty over a fire-hit refinery. March bids for ultra-clean CARB unleaded gasoline fell 0.75 cent to 46.25 cents a gallon. San Francisco bids held firm at 47.50 cents. Traders said most products fell as futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) sank.

NYMEX March gasoline lost 0.58 cent to settle at 35.45 cents a gallon, expiring at the end of the regular session. April NYMEX crude oil futures lost 41 cents to end at $12.27 a barrel. San Francisco gasoline remained tight as traders assessed the impact of a fire at Tosco Corp's Avon refinery that killed three workers and shut down a crude unit.

Iraq completes oil exports target

Iraq has kept pace with its 1.9 million Barrel Per Day (BPD) February crude export schedule despite suffering storm closures at both export outlets, a shippingsource said. At the Gulf Port of Mina Al-Bakr Austria's OMV has loaded a million barrel cargo, leaving only 1.9 million barrels left to load for the rest of the month. At Turkey's Mediterranean Port of Ceyhan the country's IOC has finished loading a 9,85,000 barrel cargo originally scheduled for February 24. Both Mina Al-Bakr and Ceyhan have suffered a couple of days' storm closure over the last week. The United Nations said on Tuesday that Iraq's export rate for the week ending was 1.59 million BPD, down from 2.14 million.

Indonesia to probe copper sales

Indonesia will investigate sales of copper concentrates by PT Freeport Indonesia to smelters in Japan and Spain to check allegations it underpaid royalties due to the government, an Indonesia daily said. "By reviewing (Freeport's) concentrate sales contracts, the government will be able to know the value of royalties on by-products that Freeport has avoided," the paper quoted director general of mining Rozik Boedioro Soetjipto. Freeport Indonesiais majority-owned by the US-based Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold, with the rest held by the Indonesian government.