US copper futures surrendered earlier gains and drifted to a lower close on Friday after bleak unemployment data reinforced fears of recession and dampened the outlook for raw materials demand. Copper for December delivery fell 2.85 cents to settle at $1.6970 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
The session range from $1.6905 to $1.7940. COMEX estimated final futures volume at 22,451 lots, in line with Thursday's 22,321 lots. Open interest down 1,050 lots to 76,769 contracts open as of November 6.