Copper slipped on Friday on persistent investor concerns about slowing growth in top consumer China, though losses were limited as solid US jobs data fed hopes that copper demand would pick up in the world's largest economy. US employers maintained a solid pace of hiring for a second straight month in March, the data showed, evidence the economy was shifting into higher gear after being held back by a brutally cold winter.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended down 0.35 percent at $6,619 a tonne, after having traded in positive territory for most of the day. "A strong payroll number represents a strong economy, and a strong economy always brings more demand for construction and other related industries which could also increase the demand for copper," Ava Trade chief market analyst, Naeem Aslam, said.
Copper has steadied since falling to 3-1/2 year lows in March after a bond default by a Chinese solar panel maker aroused fears about credit problems in the country. It ended the first quarter down 9.7 percent. Investors remained wary of slowing growth rates in China, which accounts for some 40 percent of global copper demand. The United States accounts for around 10 percent.
In industry news, copper products-maker Luvata aimed to use 5 percent more copper this year, mainly driven by strong demand for its products from the United States, which will help offset weaker-than-expected consumption from China. Also, a copper smelter venture between diversified Indonesian miner Aneka Tambang and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc may not be ready before a ban on concentrate exports takes effect in 2017, the state-owned firm said.
Three-month aluminium closed down 0.65 percent at $1,822 a tonne, having earlier hit its highest since early November at $1,849.25. The market is up more than 5 percent this week, the biggest weekly gain since late November 2012. Investors have been upbeat on aluminium after a series of capacity cutbacks by producers including Alcoa, which shut down 147,000 tonnes in Brazil.
Still, analysts said the gain in prices may not be sustainable, given slowing growth in China. "The market needs to get itself around the fact that why would China want to see prices go up," Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Sydney-based commodities firm Barratt's Bulletin, said.
Tin ended down 0.17 percent at $23,150 a tonne, and nickel closed up 0.55 percent at $16,385 a tonne, having earlier hit its highest since last April at $16,591 a tonne, capitalising further on Indonesia's export ban on unprocessed ores. Global demand for nickel is expected to increase to 1.89 million tonnes in 2014 versus 1.77 million in 2013, the International Nickel Study Group said on Friday. Surplus for the base metal is estimated at 50,000 tonnes for the year, sharply lower from 170,000 tonnes in 2013. Lead closed up 0.19 percent at $2,059 a tonne, while zinc ended up 1.06 percent at $2,004 a tonne.
Zinc prices in China are expected to rise in the second quarter after dipping 3 percent in the first three months of the year as railway projects boost consumption and investment demand stays strong, industry sources said. Firm demand should spur further buying in the global market by Chinese importers, whose increased purchases in the first quarter helped push London Metal Exchange zinc CMZN3 to a one-year high in March.