In New York, the COMEX May contract firmed 0.50 cent to settle at $3.7955 per lb, after dealing between $3.7745 and $3.8270. Copper rallied this week to within 1 percent of its 2012 peaks above $8,700 a tonne and near $4 per lb on anticipation of more monetary easing in the United States.
But minutes from a US monetary policy meeting on Tuesday quashed those expectations and led to a divestment of risk across markets. Now prices are trading back within the middle of a range held since late January, bid higher when they reach the bottom of the range near $8,200 a tonne ($3.71 per lb) and capped by producer selling at around $8,600 ($3.90/lb), Citi analyst David Wilson said.