Copper closes with gain of almost 5%

LONDON.- Copper closed with a 4.43% gain today at the London Metal Exchange (LME) after trading for US$ 1.49277 per pound of "grade A" material, compared to US$ 1.42950 on Wednesday and US$ 1.48370 on Tuesday of this week.

Despite the increase, the monthly average dropped to US$ 1.50868, while the yearly average rose to US$ 1.48000.

Meanwhile, the future 3-month price quote ended at US$ 1.50865 per pound, up 4.05% from Wednesday (US$ 1.44991).

At the LME, stocks rose by 2,950 metric tons to 528,250. So far this year, there has been an accumulated increase of 188,475 MT (+55.47%).