By Matt Day Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Copper futures fell Friday, giving up their earlier gains as a closely watched U.S. jobs report suggested economic growth in the world's second-largest copper consuming country continued to stumble. The most actively traded contract, for July delivery, was recently down 2.45 cents, or 0.6%, at $4.0600 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was holding slight gains at about $4.1075 a pound before the report. The Labor Department Friday said U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 54,000 in May, well below the increase of 160,000 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. Payrolls data for April and March were both revised lower, to increases of 232,000 and 194,000. "This data is certainly not supportive for copper prices," said Frank Lesh, a broker and analyst with FuturePath Trading in Chicago. "It's doubtful that manufacturing is going to turn up for the next several months." Copper is sensitive to changes in the economic outlook because of its widespread uses in construction and manufacturing, and the metal is sometimes viewed as a bellwether of industrial activity. After surging to record highs above $4.60 a pound in February, the metal has come under pressure from the view that China's efforts to curb inflation may hit the country's appetite for metals. China is the world's largest copper consumer and a driver of global prices. Worries about the health of the U.S. economy have added to copper's woes. Recent reports on regional manufacturing, homes prices and construction spending have pointed to a slowdown in growth, damping sentiment in the copper market. Copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended higher Friday, supported by an uptick in physical buying ahead of a long weekend. The exchange is closed Monday for the Dragon Boat holiday. -By Matt Day, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4986; matt.day@dowjones.com

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