US copper futures finished the last trading day of the quarter with modest losses on Wednesday, as prices consolidated from this week's sharp rally and investors squared positions ahead of Friday's key government employment data. Copper for May delivery slipped 1.00 cent to finish at $3.5535 per lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. Range from $3.5215 to $3.5735.
On Tuesday, May copper peaked at $3.5775, the highest level for a second-position contract based on a continuation basis since early August 2008. For the quarter, the benchmark May contract rallied 20.70 cents, or 6.2 percent, from the end of 2009. COMEX estimated final copper futures volume at 34,874 lots from Tuesday's final count at 36,274 lots. Open interest up 765 lots to 141,517 contracts as of March 30.