Copper posted its biggest daily advance in three months on Friday, as buyers for the industrial metal emerged after energy prices retreated from this week's sharp rally, calming worries about inflation and the global economy.
Copper remained off record highs at $10,190 per tonne in London and $4.6575 per lb, as investors remained concerned the turmoil in Libya could spread to other major oil-producing countries, causing energy prices to spike and hurting demand for industrial metals.
"A lot of the trade this week is about oil," said Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with Future Path Trading in Chicago. "The fact that the crude isn't higher and it appears to have peaked takes some of the inflation pressures off of the economies of the world." The active May COMEX copper contract surged 11.15 cents to finish at $4.4550 per lb.