Copper prices rise one percent in American trade

Copper prices surged one percent as the dollar index gave up ground, following earlier developments on Friday and ahead of US housing data and FOMC member Jerome Powell's speech. 

As of 2:50 GMT, copper rose 0.88% to $263.30 a pound from the opening of $259.00, while the dollar index shed 0.21% to 97.39 from the opening of 97.59.

Earlier data from Japan showed the manufacturing PMI slowing down, while rising for the euro zone economies, and tapering off in the US unexpectedly, as markets now await US new house sales data, expected to have risen, while Powell will deliver a speech titled "Central Clearing and Liquidity" at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Symposium on Central Clearing.