LONDON: Copper prices edged lower on Friday, sapped by thin holiday trade and concerns about weaker physical demand.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.5% to $9,568 a tonne in closing trade, which took place earlier than usual on Christmas Eve.

The dip in copper came after four straight days of gains that propelled it to a two-week high on Thursday.

“The metals prices may well have recovered recent losses but that is very much in the world of futures trading as the physical world is very quiet and the demand for metal is falling away,” said Malcolm Freeman of Kingdom Futures.

China’s Yangshan copper premium for refined copper imports has slipped to $90 a tonne from $104 a week ago.

The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading 0.3% lower at 69,750 yuan ($10,950.62) a tonne, after a three-day rally.

“Generally, I’m not expecting much excitement going into year-end unless there are major news or developments being reported, such as Omicron news that is beyond our expectations,” said Wong Min Hao, a commodities manager with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Health experts have warned that the battle against the Omicron coronavirus variant was far from over despite two drugmakers saying their vaccines protected against it and signs it carries a lower risk of hospitalisation.