US copper futures closed with solid gains in abbreviated trade on Friday, as concerns over slowing economic growth abated after the US Federal Reserve signalled a pause in its two-year tightening policy, sources said.
Copper trading at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at 12:05 pm on Friday and will remain shut on Monday and Tuesday for the US Independence Day holiday on July 4.
"If growth reaccelerate, the Fed will not move again until August (its next meeting), allowing the markets some breathing room to assess things until then," said Edward Meir, metals analyst with Man Financial.
"In the meantime, metal markets will now have a chance to focus more on their own internals," Meir added. Benchmark September copper settled up 3.40 cents at $3.3550 a lb., after dealing from $3.3050 to $3.4550, its best level since June 8.
For the week, the contract rallied nearly 6.5 percent. Initial resistance in September copper was found at $3.50, while support continued to be seen at the psychological $3.00 level. Spot July closed 3.95 cents firmer to $3.4625 a lb.
Month-end and quarter-end book squaring was seen adding an additional boost to the day's gains, before some light profit taking capped the advance, traders said. Final volume was estimated at 14,000 lots, compared with the 16,002 lots recorded on Thursday.
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