US copper ends down, housing data fails to inspire

NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters) - U.S. copper futures ended lower on Wednesday after a mixed report from the U.S. housing sector drove the dollar higher and helped halt the industrial metal's overnight charge to a 2-1/2-week peak.

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* Copper for July delivery HGN9 shed 2.00 cents to close at $2.1210 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.

* Session range from $2.1070 to $2.1590, the contract's highest level since May 8.

* COMEX estimated futures volume at 13,746 lots by 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT). Final volume on Tuesday reached 16,160 lots.

* Open interest fell by 444 lots to 106,947 contracts open as of May 26.

* COMEX copper prices surrendered overnight gains and tracked equities to a lower close after mixed existing home sales data fail to provide fresh direction for the industrial metal - analysts.

* The pace of sales of existing homes in the United States rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million units in April, but the inventory of existing homes for sale rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million - The National Association of Realtors. [ID:nN27543642]

* "Housing numbers a bit of a mixed bag. The supply number rose and I think people were hoping that number would drop by a small amount, and that's kind of keeping the copper a little heavy here." - Sterling Smith, vice president with FuturesOne in Chicago.