LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 350 Mining index <.FTNMX1770> climbed to a four-month high on Friday, with a rally in prices of major industrial metals boosting shares in companies such as Glencore (>> Glencore PLC), Anglo American (>> Anglo American plc) and BHP Billiton (>> BHP Billiton plc).

The sector derived strength from metals prices, with copper staying on track for its biggest weekly advance in about six months on signs of a bottoming in a recent slide in oil prices.

Prospects of a stronger U.S. economy also fuelled investor appetite for metals. [MET/L]

Shares in Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Antofagasta (>> Antofagasta plc) and Rio Tinto (>> Rio Tinto plc) rose 2-4.2 percent, helping the UK mining index to advance more than 3 percent on Friday, and taking this year's total gains to 25 percent.

The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index <.SXPP> was also up 1.9 percent after setting a three-month high.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)