London Metal Exchange (LME) base metals ended Friday's open outcry steady, but the market was made nervous by disappointing US jobless data and volumes were thin, traders and analysts said.
"The market has been very choppy today," one LME trader said
"When the US job data came out the market was all over the place - characteristic of people unsure where the near-term trends are.
The feeling is up but we have come up so fast could their be another correction?" analyst Robin Bhar at Standard Bank London told Reuters.
The number of workers on US payrolls outside the farm sector in December increased by just 1,000 after a downward revised rise of 43,000 in November. It was the fifth consecutive monthly rise but was far below economist expectations for an increase of 130,000.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, the lowest in over a year and down from 5.9 percent in November. But this was mainly because people dropped out of the work force.
"Next week can expect more of the same," Bhar said.
"The market is torn between wanting to go higher and the knowledge that it hasn't laid down a very firm basis so if it does correct it could go down a long way, quickly."
Copper ended the day at $2,417 a tonnes, up from $2,404 at Thursday's kerb.
Traders said there was support, with the market prepared to buy any dips.
"We are seeing that people are buying the dips. I think most of it is speculative and trade related," the trader said.
Below $2,400, resistance was pegged at $2,380, $2,340 and $2,300.
Nickel was unchanged at $16,100.
"Nickel remains nervous and there is a lot of confusion about what the strike mandate at Falconbridge actually means," Bhar said.
The approval does not automatically mean a strike will take place at the Sudbury, Ontario facility, and negotiations would continue until January 31 when the current contract expires.
Aluminium ticked up $1 to $1,620, but was firmly stuck in its recent ranges, while tin went untraded, indicated $110 higher at $6,560/70.
"Aluminium is a dead man in the market, sandwiched between $1,595 and $1,630 or so," the trader said.
Lead ended the day unchanged at $740 while zinc slipped $8 to $1,041.
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