Copper futures fell around 0.5 percent in Asia on Wednesday, after stocks of the metal climbed from a 14-1/2-year low and nervous investors cashed in positions ahead of US November employment data due on Friday. Copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped further below a 16-year peak of $3,175 a tonne it struck on October 11, but traders said a weak dollar and continued tight supply would lend support.
"Some of our clients have said it's getting harder to sell physical copper, so they're a little bit bearish," a futures trader in Shanghai said. "But in Shanghai, copper is still tight."
Three-month copper had dropped to $3,085/$3,093 a tonne.
It closed at $3,095 in London on Tuesday, but started the Asian day above $3,100. Chinese investors took profits on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, where copper contracts fell across the board.
February copper lost 480 yuan to trade at 28,540 yuan a tonne. Copper stocks in LME warehouses totalled 59,975 tonnes on Tuesday, but the 675-tonne daily rise was from a low not previously reached since July 1990, and traders expected stocks to remain low.
They said uncertainty over the US dollar, which hit a new all-time low against the euro late on Tuesday, had filtered through to the copper market.
While the weak US currency, also near a 4-1/2-year low against the Japanese yen, was a supporting factor for copper prices, dealers said dollar selling had hit a lull ahead of Friday's jobs data, which could provide clues on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month.
US copper futures ended with modest losses on Tuesday. Most-active March copper on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division closed 0.65 cent lower at $1.4340 a pound.
On the LME, three-month aluminium traded at $1,836/$1,840 a tonne, down a handful of dollars from Tuesday's close of $1,840. Aluminium also fell in Shanghai. The most-active February contract was at 15,850 yuan a tonne, down 130 yuan.
Zinc rose 3 percent on Monday. Some of these gains have since been eaten away, with the metal retreating to $1,166/$1,171 a tonne from Tuesday's close of $1,171, but traders said supply worries were lending support.
LME nickel was trading at $14,200/$14,350 a tonne and lead was at $950/$960. Tin was untrained in the Asian, with bids indicated at $8,700 a tonne.