In New York, the May COMEX contract rose 2.85 cents to settle at $3.8250 per lb, after moving between $3.8055 and $3.8520. Volumes were thin on the last trading day of March, with a little more than 49,400 lots traded in late New York business, down more than 20 percent from the 30-day norm, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.
Copper prices in London and New York peaked in the first quarter at $8,765 and nearly $4, but have lost some steam since. Prices have been locked in a $8,100-$8,800 a tonne ($3.70-$4/lb) range for the better part of the quarter as uncertainties about China's ability to steer its economy toward a soft landing weighed.