The most traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.5 percent to 47,160 yuan ($7,696) a tonne on Friday while ShFE zinc fell 1 percent. Jitters about global growth have pushed and pulled copper demand expectations, with worsening conditions leading to hopes of further easing by Beijing and the European Central Bank.
Copper has weathered the souring sentiment and a stronger dollar better than other commodities such as oil due to tighter than expected supply, with buying support seen towards year-end as Chinese firms rush to complete their annual purchase targets. China's consumption of refined copper in the rest of 2014 may hinge on new orders from the power sector.
"Our expectation is that as everyone tries to cram in year-end investment for copper, the power grid should pick up purchases as they haven't filled their planned spending. So for copper, the year-end is looking a bit better than for other metals," said analyst Matthew Fusarelli at AME Group in Sydney.
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