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London copper edged up on Friday as a softer U.S. dollar made greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies, but was set for a weekly decline amid caution ahead of the U.S. presidential election and a key policy meeting in China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.7% to $9,569 per metric ton by 0647 GMT, while the most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 0.1% to 76,570 yuan ($10,748.63) a ton.
LME copper is set for a fifth straight week of decline, down 0.4% so far this week.
The dollar index was headed for its first weekly loss in five weeks and steadied on Friday, as investors awaited the U.S. jobs report ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting and a close-call U.S. presidential election next week.
The outcome of the Nov. 5 election will decide how the policies in the world's biggest economy will shape in the next four years.
"The election's far-reaching implications for global economic policies and trade relations cement its position as the primary catalyst for metals price movements, currently," said analysts at BMI.
The Chinese legislative body will meet between Nov. 4 and Nov. 8 and market participants are hoping for stimulus measures that could boost physical metals demand.
The premium to import copper into China has been stable at $48 a ton, down from $69 last month, indicating softer demand.
LME aluminium rose 0.7% to $2,636 a ton, nickel increased 0.8% to $15,840, zinc advanced 0.5% to $3,043.50, lead climbed 1.3% to $2,046.50 and tin gained 0.2% at $31,275.
SHFE aluminium edged up 0.2% at 20,780 yuan a ton, tin added 0.7% to 255,970 yuan, lead edged up 0.9% at 16,840 yuan, nickel rose 0.1% to 123,930 yuan, while zinc fell 1.1% to 24,865 yuan.
($1 = 7.1237 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Janane Venkatraman)