The base metals, except for nickel, were all in the black on Friday. Copper started up in the pre-dawn hours and peaked around mid-morning at nearly $3.87, but then dropped off before finishing in positive territory at $3.8335/lb., up 4 cents. Nickel rose in the pre-dawn hours, poking through the $10 barrier again, but again fell off from there to close at its intraday low of $9.6524/lb., down less than 3 cents. Zinc was up in the pre-dawn hours and held onto its gains through the day, ending

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