COMEX copper futures finished with sizeable gains in response to stronger demand implied by healthier US producer price and industrial production data released on Friday, traders said. Bucking the recent trend, metals traders ignored the dollar's gains and bought copper on the bullish fundamentals. "People have been staring at the euro and selling copper every time the dollar rallies.
They're looking at one thing when 10 other things are going on around them and missing the big picture," said one copper trader, who added that Friday's data highlighted the strong copper demand scenario.
COMEX copper trading closed early on Friday and will be shut on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
At the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark March copper gained 1.80 cents to end at $1.3990 a lb., after trading from $1.3780 to $1.40 a lb.
Spot January futures rose 2.25 cents to close at $1.4340. The rest settled 1.80 to 2.10 cents higher.
Usually a stronger dollar tends to inhibit purchases of dollar-denominated assets, like copper, by overseas buyers.
London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks slid by 1,525 tonnes to 44,650 tonnes on Friday.
LME copper for three-month delivery rose to $3,010 a tonne by Friday's close, after $3,001 on Thursday. The range ran between $2,975 a tonne and $3,016.