The most-active February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 1.4 percent to close at 57,070 yuan per tonne on Friday, falling 1.7 percent for the week. China, which consumes around 40 percent of the world's copper, has been seen as the remaining pillar for the industrial metal, with the eurozone engulfed by a debt crisis and the US economy struggling.
But slower Chinese demand, spurred by tighter credit as Beijing tames inflation, was partly to blame for copper being unable to recover strongly.