London copper fell 1.6 percent on Friday, retreating from gains in the previous session, while Shanghai lagged behind the rally on worries over sluggish demand in summer. Metals market, together with other markets, have been encouraged by upbeat news from around the world pointing to an economy recovery, including the first gain in three months in US retail sales and a drop in new jobless claims.
Another bright spot was China's annual industrial growth, which rebounded to 8.9 percent in May against forecasts of 7.5 percent, while May retail sales were up 15.2 percent from last year, exceeding expectations of a 14.9 percent rise. Shanghai's benchmark third-month copper contract settled down 0.8 percent to 41,180 yuan a tonne, shedding earlier gains as sentiment dampened by falls in domestic stock markets. It finished 0.2 percent higher than a week earlier. The most-active contract for September delivery edged down 0.5 percent to 41,350 yuan at close.