India copper futures ease on profit-taking

MUMBAI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - India's copper futures eased on Monday, after gaining more than 10 percent last week, as investors booked profits, analyst said.

Copper looks bullish on technical grounds, and as LME copper is holding above $3,100 per tonne level, said Somnath Dey, in-charge, metals and energy research at Religare Commodities.

However, investors remained concerned about waning demand for industrial metals amid a deepening global recession and rising inventory levels, analysts said.

Investors will be closely watching U.S. auto sales for December on Monday and November durable goods and factory orders on Tuesday for direction in base metals complex. At 10:48 a.m., the benchmark copper February contract MCCG9 traded 0.16 percent lower at 158.40 rupees per kg, after hitting an intra-day low of 153.7 rupees.

Charts are showing bullish pattern after copper breached 150-rupee-level, said Amrut Deshmukh, a technical analyst at Way 2 Wealth Securities.

Buying is recommended at 156 rupees with a target of 177 and with a stop loss of 151 rupees, Deshmukh added. At 10:48 a.m., January zinc MZIF9 was 0.97 percent lower at 61.25 rupees per kg, and January lead MLDF9 was down 0.19 percent to 53.85 rupees per kg. (Reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar; Editing by Harish Nambiar)