PHOTO
A worker stands in a mill, which is part of a copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China's Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024. Mining in Krivelj started in the 1970s, and even though standards have since improved, production has quadrupled since it was taken over in 2018 by China's Zijin Mining. "The site suffered from severe direct emissions of gases and wastewater, resulting in highly polluted surroundings including air, rivers, and soil," Zijin said in a statement to Reuters. REUTERS/Marko Djurica SEARCH "DJURICA SERBIA MINES" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Copper was on track for a weekly fall on Friday, weighed down by demand concerns fuelled by weak economic data from top consumer China, although losses were limited by falling inventories.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.5% on a weekly basis as of 0600 GMT and on track for a second straight week of decline. On a daily basis, the contract was nearly unchanged at $9,093 a metric ton.
The most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 0.7% to 72,480 yuan ($10,233.10) a ton. However, it was down 2.1% on a weekly basis.
Copper has been trading around the $9,000 level on the LME without a clear direction because of contrasting signals from the market, said ANZ analyst Soni Kumari.
Slowing manufacturing activities and sales of electric vehicles in China have weighed on prices and demand outlook for metals, while falling inventories and mine supply disruptions are supporting nickel and copper prices, she said.
SHFE copper inventories fell to 241,715 tons on Aug. 30, the lowest since March 8. Meanwhile, Chile's state-run copper commission Cochilco said in a study the shortage of copper concentrate would continue into 2025.
Unless there is a material deterioration in consumption and the Chinese government doesn't explore any further stimulus to defend growth which could trigger a sell-off, prices are supported for now, said Kumari.
LME nickel fell 0.7% to $15,970 a ton, zinc declined 0.1% to $2,734, lead eased 0.3% to $1,990, while tin rose 0.1% to $30,800 and aluminium edged up 0.2% at $2,383.
SHFE aluminium fell 0.4% to 19,255 yuan a ton, nickel declined 1.7% to 122,900 yuan, zinc dropped 1.8% to 22,765 yuan, lead lost 1.9% to 16,770 yuan, while tin rose 0.5% to 250,080 yuan.
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(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Subhranshu Sahu)