New York copper futures ended the last trading day of 2004 within spitting distance of the contract high as prices were lifted by unexpectedly strong jobs data, traders said. "There's really not much to say. It was the end of the year. Nothing much really happened. The key is that we're closed and London is open tomorrow, and we're open and London is closed on Monday. So, that will be key.

What happened to today was of little consequence," said one trader. Comex copper trading ended an hour on Thursday and will remain closed on Friday for the New Year's Day holiday.

At the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, March delivery copper finished with 0.75 cent gains at $1.4525 a lb, and traded between $1.44 and $1.4550. On Tuesday, March copper hit a double top at the $1.4560 life-of-contract high.

Spot January copper rose 0.45 cent to end at $1.4870 a lb., and the rest settled up 0.65 to 2.35 cents a lb. With many players out for the holidays, traders said business was thin. Comex estimated final copper volume at just 6,000 lots for Thursday's shortened session, about half the 11,487 contracts traded on Wednesday.

Copper prices turned modestly higher after an improved US labour market reading, and were able to onto hold those gains into the close. "Jobless claims came out better, and that helped lift this thing.

We were down 50 points, and after that we rallied," said one copper trader. First time US jobless claims fell by an unexpected 5,000 last week, and followed a stronger consumer confidence report this week.

Forecasters had instead predicted a similar sized gain in the weekly unemployment filings. A strong euro also supported copper prices.

The euro moved to a new all-time high against the dollar on Thursday, as traders aimed at technical targets in thin, year-end trade.

The European currency notched to a record high against the greenback for the sixth consecutive session in a row. A weak dollar makes copper cheaper for overseas customers and commodity speculators.

Another drop in paltry warehouse copper stocks helped with the bullish tone. London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks fell by 875 tonnes on Thursday to 49,375 tonnes. Comex copper warehouse stocks rose by 963 short tons to 48,203 short tons.

LME coppers for three-month delivery rallied into the close to end the on Thursday evening kerb at $3,138 a tonne, up from Wednesday's finish at $3,125 a tonne. The session range was $3,104 to $3,138 a tonne.

Copyright Reuters, 2005