Copper ended lower on Thursday as New York values lost about 2 percent, with a sharp drop in the euro dragging most commodity markets down even as US economic optimism mounted. The industrial metal has back-pedalled this week from records at $9,754 per tonne in London and $4.4980 per lb in New York, as traders cashed in on a 2010 rally and limited risk exposure while the euro extended losses against the dollar.
COMEX March copper tumbled 7.85 cents or 1.8 percent to settle at $4.3295 per lb, near the bottom of its $4.3115 to $4.4260 session range.