Copper slips

Beijing: Copper prices fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened ahead of next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, at which the U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time this year.

A stronger greenback makes metals more expensive for holders of other currencies and can weigh on prices. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1 percent at $6,914 a tonne, extending a 1 percent loss in the previous session. It is on course for a 0.7 percent weekly drop.

The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 0.8 percent to 51,960 yuan ($8,206) a tonne but on track for a weekly gain of 0.8 percent. Shanghai nickel was the biggest loser in early trade, slipping 1 percent to 103,060 yuan a tonne but still up 2.2 percent for the week.