Copper yesterday traded with the positive node and settled 0.17% up at 409.7 as investors remained confident about the U.S. economic recovery and kept an eye on a protracted production outage in Indonesia, though gains were capped by disappointing import numbers from top consumer China. A top U.S. official said the Federal Reserve could end its bond buying programme later this year if it believed an improvement in the jobs outlook is here to stay. The comments have made Wednesday's release of minutes of the U.S. central bank's last meeting a focus for markets, with Fed chairman Ben Bernanke due to testify to Congress on the same day. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Indonesian mine could face a prolonged closure and scrutiny over its underground mining plans after one of the country's worst-ever mining disasters. China's April refined copper imports fell 32.95 percent from a year ago to hit 183,023 tonnes, while refined copper exports rose 6% to 29,072 tonnes. Investors have been disappointed by recent economic growth and manufacturing data China, and are growing nervous ahead of Thursday's release of manufacturing data from China, the U.S. and the euro zone. Global copper mine output is also on track to rise rapidly for a second successive year, despite the tunnel collapse at Grasberg and a recent landslide at Rio Tinto's Bingham Canyon mine in the United States. In yesterday's trading session copper has touched the low of 408 after opening at 408.55, and finally settled at 409.7. For today's session market is looking to take support at 406.8, a break below could see a test of 404 and where as resistance is now likely to be seen at 413.7, a move above could see prices testing 417.8.

Trading Ideas:

Copper trading range for the day is 404-417.8.

Copper rose as investors remained confident about the U.S. economic recovery and kept an eye on a protracted production outage in Indonesia

Data showed China's April refined copper imports fell 32.95 percent from a year ago to hit 183,023 tonnes.

Inventors were growing nervous ahead of Thursday's release of manufacturing data from China, the U.S. and the euro zone.