Copper likely to go down

Reuters

Melbourne

London copper steadied on Friday but was heading for its largest weekly loss since early 2015, after a plunge in steel and iron ore prices this week sped a pull back across the metals sector on worries over China´s economy and a stronger dollar.

A protracted slowdown in China´s factory activity doused hopes an economic revival was gaining strength this week, pouring cold water on a rally across commodities.

Moves by Chinese regulators to prick a speculative bubble fostered a collapse in steel and iron ore prices, and related metals in the sector such as nickel, used in stainless steel, have also declined as a result.

"We continue to see good macro data in (China´s) property sector and infrastructure investment may come through a lot more strongly than people think," said analyst Lachlan Shaw at UBS in Melbourne.  "Still, there´s mixed signals.