Copper prices rose on Friday after a three-day slump, supported by a weaker US dollar, but the metal was set for a weekly drop as worries persisted about an economic slowdown in top metals consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.6 percent at $9,406.50 a ton, while the most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.9 percent to 71,850 yuan ($10,666.88) a ton.
For the week, copper – which is often used as a gauge of global economic health – edged down 0.1 percent, while other metals also headed for weekly losses.
“Metals marked time with concerns about Chinese demand acting as a weight on sentiment, while the weaker dollar and lift in risk tone acted as support,” analysts at Westpac said in a note.
The dollar sank to a one-month low versus major peers on Friday, as traders lowered Federal Reserve rate-hike expectations amid signs the US central bank might slow or even pause its tightening cycle in the second half of the year.
A weaker greenback makes metals priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies.
