Copper rose slightly in price Thursday morning, trading data showed.

March copper futures on the Comex exchange rose 0.16% to $3.84 a pound (about 0.45 kilograms).

At the end of Wednesday's trading on the London Metal Exchange (LME), the cost of a ton of copper with delivery in three months rose by 1.12% to $8,443, aluminum - declined by 0.36% to $2,381, zinc - increased by 1.37% to $ 3,005.5.

The industrial metal has risen by 2.8% since early December. Meanwhile, copper may finish the year in deficit - it has fallen in price by 12.6% since January.