Copper fell by its most in a month on Friday after fears about Europe's economic health reignited, steering investors into the safety of the dollar. In New York, the COMEX September contract fell 8.65 cents or 2.45 percent to settle at $3.4480 per lb, after dealing between $3.4180 and $3.5285.
Volumes picked up on the last day of the week, with close to 74,000 lots traded in late New York business - more than two thirds above the 30-day average, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data. "That's going to be the predominant trend in price action over the next month or so," Barclays analyst Nicholas Snowdon said of the volatile price action. "Given the lack of any decisive development at a macro level in terms of economic data or policy making, it's going to be tough for prices to develop any directional trend." Copper fell after Spain's heavily indebted Valencia region requested financial aid, increasing fears that the Spanish government is moving toward a full-blown bailout.