Red metal gains 11% during first quarter

Copper declines 1.3% on a monthly basis Copper prices at Comex rose on Friday, 30 March 2012 capping its biggest quarterly gain since late 2010, as the dollar weakened and a bullish trend in warehouse stockpiles boosted prices even as investors remained worried about the Chinese demand outlook. May copper futures at Comex gained 3 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.83 per pound on Friday. Quarterly gains for copper reached 11%, after 2011 losses of 23%. Monthly, however, copper declined 1.3%. At London Metal Exchange (LME), benchmark copper closed up $95 (1.1%) at $8,445 a tonne. The first-quarter gain for copper came on the heels of an 8% rise in the final three months of 2011, as European debt crisis fears receded and healthier economic signals in the United States helped drive investment demand at a time when fears about an impending slowdown in China, which accounts for about 40% of global copper demand, have escalated. The dollar index, which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, dropped by 0.2% on Friday. The euro rose versus the dollar after euro-zone finance ministers on Friday agreed to temporarily raise the lending capacity of the region's rescue funds to 700 billion euros ($934 billion) from €500 billion. Friday's economic reports had the Commerce Department reporting spending rose 0.8% in February as income climbed 0.2%. And, the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters said consumer sentiment in March climbed to its highest level in more than a year, as Americans gained more confidence about their economic conditions. Separately, a read on business activity in the Chicago area decelerated in March, but remained above 60% for a fifth consecutive month.