BEIJING, June 7 (Reuters) –London copper edged lower on Friday, weighed down by softer-than-expected physical demand from top consumer China, while investors awaited a key U.S. jobs report due later in the day for clues on the timing of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was down 0.3% to $10,115 per metric ton by 0146 GMT. It was trading almost flat for the week.
The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 1.1% to 81,850 yuan ($11,296.82) a ton.
Expectations of Fed rate cuts in September rose after data this week hinted that the U.S. labour market was cooling.
The dollar hovered close to an eight-week low, making it cheaper to buy the greenback-priced commodity.
In China, demand for copper has been hit by a recent surge in prices.
Copper prices surged to record highs above $11,000 in late May, partly due to funds betting on the metal’s use in the green energy sectors and a potential shortage.
LME aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.2% to $2,651.50 a ton, nickel CMNI3 advanced 0.6% to $18,645, zinc CMZN3 added 0.4% to $2,920.50, tin CMSN3 was up 0.7% at $32,425, and lead CMPB3 was little changed at $2,241.50.
SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 ticked 0.6% higher to 21,345 yuan a ton, lead SPBcv1 moved 0.1% higher to 18,845 yuan, tin SSNcv1 increased 2.3% to 267,060 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 climbed 0.9% to 24,215 yuan and nickel SNIcv1 gained 0.6% to 142,830 yuan.
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($1 = 7.2454 Chinese yuan)
Reporting by Siyi Liu and Colleen Howe; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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