Investing.com - Copper prices rose to a fresh two-week high on Wednesday, amid speculation the Fed will reassure markets that interest rates will remain on hold for some time to come.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for December delivery rose to a session high of $3.099 a pound, the most since October 14. Prices last traded at $3.092 a pound during European morning hours, up 0.2 cents, or 0.05%.
A day earlier, copper prices tacked on 2.9 cents, or 0.95%, to settle at $3.093 a pound.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.055, the low from October 28, and resistance at $3.104, the high from October 14.
The Fed is widely expected to announce the end of its bond-buying stimulus program, known as quantitative easing, at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting later in the day.
Investors will be scrutinizing the Fed's statement for wording that reflects expectations that interest rates will remain on hold near zero levels for some time to come.
Market analysts expect the policymakers to reiterate rates will stay low for a “considerable time” and that there is a “significant underutilization" in the labor market.
Meanwhile, concerns over a disruption to global supplies continued to support prices.
Workers at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesian will hold a one-month strike starting next week over concern about worker safety.
Grasberg is one of the world's largest copper mines. In 2013, Freeport sold 885 million pounds of copper from Grasberg.
Separately, workers at Peru's biggest copper mine, Antamina, plan to start an indefinite strike from November 10.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold futures for December delivery shed 80 cents, or 0.07%, to trade at $1,228.60 a troy ounce, while silver futures for December delivery dipped 1.8 cents, or 0.1% to trade at $17.20 an ounce.