US copper futures fell sharply early Tuesday in mild profit taking, but brokers said activity was thin and small trades were moving prices more than warranted by tight supply fundamentals.

As a result, the brokers said, some funds came in and snatched up copper at session lows.

The COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange's copper for December delivery was down 1.05 cent at $1.8370 a lb., after trading as low as $1.8230. The session high was $1.85 and the all-time peak of $1.8580 was hit October 20.

Spot November fell 1.65 cent to $1.9210 a lb. and set a range from $1.9180 to $1.9225 a lb. COMEX estimated 10 am volume at 5,000 lots.

Copyright Reuters, 2005