The base metals were all modestly lower on Friday. Copper declined into the New York open, and though it rallied from there, came off its highs late to finish at $1.4318/lb., down more than a penny. Nickel fell below the $5 mark and, though it struggled mightily to regain it, fell just short at $4.9986/lb., down 7 cents. Zinc was off through most of the day, ending at $0.4835/lb., down three-quarters of a cent. Aluminum was weak, closing at $0.592/lb., down a penny, while lead sank to $0.5082/lb., down almost a penny.

While copper was down in late trading, the early rally was enough for Michael Gross, an OptionSellers.com analyst in Tampa, Florida, to comment that, “With the oil moving up and…