Speculators pushed copper to its lowest in a week during Thursday's open-outcry sessions on the London Metal Exchange (LME), with further choppy trade expected ahead of key US data, traders said.
Copper barely moved during the first half of the day, but was subsequently whacked down as low as $2,713 as sell stops were triggered, only to partially recover later in the session.
Floor traders said the fall was led by New York's COMEX. "It started to lose ground and was hitting stops all the way down...once copper started to come off, the others started to go as well," one dealer said.
Robin Bhar, metals analyst with Standard Bank London, said the move could be linked to nervousness ahead of US August payrolls data due to be released on Friday.
"Some funds were getting out of positions," he said.
"Also, there is still this lingering talk of some big rises in stocks," he said.
Copper stocks declined by 150 tonnes on Thursday, having risen a widely expected 6,375 tonnes on the previous day.
Three months finished the day at $2,730 a tonne, a loss of $44.
Immediate support was pegged at the 100-day moving average of $2,715, ahead of $2,680.
Nickel continued to backtrack as nearby tightness softened. The metal finished the evening kerb $275 weaker at $12,450.
"It's very nervy and whippy at the moment. Stocks have jumped because this week was tight and the backwardations flared," one LME floor trader said.
Lead was the exception to the negative trend, adding on $9 to $840, although this was a partial correction after Wednesday's option-related sell-off.
Elsewhere, aluminium dropped back below $1,700 to end $13 at $1,687. It was expected to hold support at $1,680.
Tin dropped $265 to $8,900, while zinc settled at $959 versus its previous $974.
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