Melbourne
London copper was steady on Friday but staring down the barrel of an eighth consecutive weekly decline, with markets bracing for higher US interest rates that will increase business costs and undercut demand.
"People are still looking in anticipation for Fed liftoff," said analyst Lachlan Shaw of UBS in Melbourne. "Secondly, demand is weak. The signals coming out of China suggest that you´re not getting a pickup in infrastructure spend and a lot of people have been looking for that. "Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $4,553.50 a tonne, down 0.1 percent from the previous session.
Copper prices are lagging near the lowest since 2009 around $4,443.50 hit November 23. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper fell 0.8 percent to 34,300 yuan ($5,393) a tonne.
A December US rate hike is widely expected, barring any shocks in Friday´s US nonfarm payrolls report.