METALS-Copper rises on softer dollar, but set for weekly loss amid demand worries

BEIJING, April 7 (Reuters) – Copper prices rose on
Friday, helped by a weaker dollar ahead of the U.S. non-farm
payrolls report, but the metal was headed for a weekly drop as a
raft of weak economic data this week stoked concerns about
demand.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange
climbed 0.9% to $8,861.50 a tonne by 0229 GMT. The contract has
declined 1.5% so far this week from $8,993 a tonne last Friday.

Copper prices, often seen as an economic bellwether, touched
their lowest in more than two weeks on Wednesday after weak U.S.
economic data fuelled fears of a recession.

Meanwhile, tight inventories and improved demand in top
consumer China lent some support to the market.

The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange added 0.2% at 68,740 yuan ($9,995.35) a tonne.
It has lost 1% so far this week.

The dollar index dipped, as investors pondered how
pivotal U.S. jobs data coming out on a stock trading holiday
might impact Federal Reserve policy and unleash a potentially
volatile market reaction.

Among other metals, LME zinc climbed 0.5% to $2,804
a tonne, aluminium advanced 0.3% to $2,340, tin
added 0.9% at $24,308, lead was up 0.4% at $2,119, and
nickel was up 1.6% to $23,075.

SHFE aluminium gained 0.6% to 18,705 yuan a tonne,
zinc was little changed at 22,105 yuan, nickel
rose 2.2% to 177,310 yuan, lead was up 0.6% at 15,315
yuan and tin slipped 1% to 195,670 yuan.

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($1 = 6.8772 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
((Siyi.Liu@thomsonreuters.com;))

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