--Ifo German business confidence index up for sixth straight month, bucks expectations of a fall
--Weak dollar boosts interest in dollar-denominated copper futures
By Tatyana Shumsky
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Copper futures climbed Friday, shaking off three days of losses, on stronger economic data in Europe and a weaker dollar.
The most actively traded contract, for May delivery, was recently up 5.30 cents, or 1.5%, at $3.6805 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
German business confidence increased for the sixth straight month in April, bucking expectations of a fall. The Ifo Institute's business confidence index rose to 109.9 from 109.8 in March, the highest reading since July. Analysts polled by Dow Jones expected a drop to 109.5, partly because the euro zone debt crisis has flared up again.
U.K. retail sales recorded their strongest rise in more than a year in March, as warm weather boosted spending. The volume, or retail sales, rose 1.8% from February, and was up 3.3% from March last year.
"Any type of news that doesn't seem catastrophic in this environment will lend support to equities and to metals," said Adam Klopfenstein, market strategist with Archer Financial Services.
"It doesn't take a whole lot to make people comfortable because expectations have been cut down so low," he added.
Copper is widely used in electronics, construction and general manufacturing. These broad applications make copper prices vulnerable to shifts in economic data, as a slowdown in business activity is considered a signal of lower future demand for the industrial metal.
A weaker dollar, which retreated against the euro amid the strong economic data, also buoyed copper prices. Copper futures are denominated in dollars and the contracts appear less expensive to investors who use other currencies when the dollar eases.
-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095; tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com
