Copper futures have closed flat on the London Metal Exchange (LME), treading water ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's latest meeting minutes.
At the PM kerb close on Wednesday, LME three-month copper was down just 0.1 per cent at $US7,181 a metric ton.
Ahead of the minute's release, at 1900 GMT (0600 AEDT), traders were on the look-out for further clues as to the future of the Fed's bond-buying program -- seen by some as a key support to commodities prices in recent years.
Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress that reductions in the Fed's stimulus efforts weren't on a preset course.
The release of weaker-than-expected US housing data had little impact on base metal prices on Wednesday, despite the metals' wide use in construction.
US housing starts fell 16 per cent in January to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 880,000, the Commerce Department said. This was worse than economist forecasts, which predicted a 4.9 per cent fall in the construction of new homes to 950,000.
"The US macro numbers have been so precipitous of late that weather is almost certainly the most logical (reason) behind the steep decline," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
"Of course, if the weather starts to thaw out over the next few weeks and we still see activity struggling, then all bets are off, as this will be a sign that the economy is indeed slowing down."
