The base metals were mostly lower on Monday. Copper held onto Friday’s close until the late pre-dawn hours, but then was off sharply, bottoming near $1.75 at mid-morning before rallying to a finish at $1.828/lb., down 6½ cents from Friday.

The base metals were mixed on Friday. Copper fell from the pre-dawn hours to the New York open, but rallied from there, regaining much of the lost ground though it failed to break even, finishing at $1.893/lb., down 4 1/3 cents.

The base metals were all off to the races on Wednesday. Copper blasted back over the $2 mark, rising from the pre-dawn hours to past noon before easing a bit and finishing at $2.0678/lb., up 14¾ cents. Nickel followed a similar path, cresting above $6 before pulling back to close at $5.8559/lb., up 61¼ cents.

The base metals were nearly all in positive territory on Tuesday. Copper prolonged its rally, with buying coming in on dips through the day, and finishing at its intraday high of $1.9204/lb., up more than 7 2/3 cents. Nickel soared in the afternoon hours, before easing a bit late to close at $5.2435/lb., up 23 1/3 cents.

The base metals were mostly deep in the red on Tuesday. Copper fell from the pre-dawn hours to the New York open, tried to rally, but gave it up to finish just off its intraday low at $2.0453/lb., down 11 1/3 cents. Nickel was down in the pre-dawn hours, shot much higher to the mid-morning point, but then tumbled back to break-even, closing at $4.6849/lb., up just over a penny.

The base metals were mostly in the green on Friday. Copper rallied during the pre-dawn hours, sank back below break-even after New York opened, but then rallied again to achieve a rare positive day, finishing at $2.2099/lb., up 9½ cents.

The base metals were mostly bloodied again on Thursday. Copper rallied during the pre-dawn hours, but failed to hold its gains as it was off steeply beginning with the New York open, and finished just off its intraday low at $2.1153/lb., down nearly 10¼ cents.

The base metals nearly all took a thrashing on Wednesday. Copper peaked at the New York open, but sagged with only a couple of feeble rallies through the day, finishing at $2.4025/lb., down 19½ cents. Nickel was crushed, falling below the $6 mark around mid-morning and failing to re-take the level, closing at $5.8173/lb., down 60 cents.

The base metals were mixed on Tuesday. Copper was up, bottoming at $2.55 in the pre-dawn hours, then moving sharply higher to mid-morning, before falling off again to finish at $2.5976/lb., up 5 cents. Nickel started the day much lower, then traded sideways through a tight range of about 10 cents, closing at $6.4168/lb., down 47¼ cents. Zinc dropped off, ending at $0.6898/lb., down better than 3 cents.

The base metals were all in the red on Monday. Copper was off sharply pre-dawn, rallied at the beginning of the New York day, but then fell again to finish at its intraday low of $2.5478/lb., down nearly 13 cents from Friday. Nickel was down consistently throughout the day, closing at $6.8697/lb., down 51¾ cents.