India copper futures up on short-covering

MUMBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - India's copper futures stayed firm on Tuesday as investors covered their shorts after Monday's steep fall, analysts said. "This is just a short covering... the fundamentals of copper remain bearish as consumption would be hit because of the global economic problems," said K.N. Rahaman, deputy research head at Way 2 Wealth Securities Ltd.

At 03:26 p.m., the benchmark November copper MCCX8 on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) was at 268.90 rupees per kg, up 0.94 percent from the previous day.

The contract could aim for 275 or 278 rupees during the day, said Navneet Damani, analyst with Anand Rathi Commodities.

October zinc MZIV8 traded at 74.60 rupees per kg, up 0.88 percent. October lead MLDV8 was at 80.30 rupees per kg, up 2.36 percent.

"Other than lead and zinc, that are trading lower than their production costs, I am bearish on all base metals in the near term," Damani added. (Reporting by Ruchira Singh; Editing by Harish Nambiar)