By Tatyana Shumsky
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Copper prices eased from earlier highs Friday, as traders cashed in profits after an upbeat U.S. jobs report.

The most actively traded contract, for May delivery, was recently up 0.7%, or 3.3 cents, at $4.5230 per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The front-month contract, for March delivery, was up 0.7%, or 3 cents, at $4.5050 per pound.

Copper futures had rallied ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report as traders bid prices higher amid positive expectations, with the May contract reaching a high of $4.5540 a pound.

The U.S. economy added 192,000 new jobs in February, while the unemployment rate fell to 8.9%, dipping below 9% for the first time since April 2009, the Labor Department said in its monthly report Friday.

Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 9.1% and forecast payrolls to increase by 200,000.

Sustained improvement in the U.S. labor market is supportive of higher copper demand. The red metal is widely used in consumer electrical and electronic products, a sector that does well when consumers have more discretionary income.

However, copper prices eased off their highs after the data as market participants moved to cash in their gains.

"We've run up the market expecting a good number, which we got, and we're taking profits," said Frank Lesh, analyst at FuturePath Trading in Chicago.

-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095; tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110304-707080.html