SHFE copper advances in post-holiday trading

Chinese copper futures rose last week after the US government passed legislation to avoid the US's so-called "fiscal cliff" and gained further on positive economic data out of China and the US.

The April contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) gained 0.86 percent Friday to close the first week of the year up 1.18 percent at 58,360 yuan ($9,365.40) per ton.

Like the Chinese mainland's other major financial markets, the SHFE shut down Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the New Year holiday. The most traded SHFE copper contract jumped 4.52 percent in 2012.

The benchmark three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.6 percent Friday, but ended the week up 2.64 percent at $8,102 per ton.

The LME contract got a boost last week after the US Congress passed measures that put off the automatic tax increases and budget cuts set to take effect January 1, which had been weighing on global financial markets.

The contract gave back some of those gains after the US Federal Reserve Thursday released monthly meeting minutes that indicated that the central bank might reverse some of its stimulus policies earlier than expected, according to a Reuters report Friday. The news pushed up the value of the US dollar, which weighed on commodities prices.

Still, the US's monthly employment figures came in line with the market's expectations, limiting losses for the economically sensitive commodity, Reuters reported.

The US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar's value against a basket of other currencies, rose nearly 1 percent last week to 80.44. A stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Gold was one of those commodities. On the mainland, the SHFE June gold contract lost 1 percent Friday to finish the week down 0.7 percent at 336.84 yuan per gram, or $1,681.14 per ounce. Meanwhile, the benchmark Comex gold future in the US lost 0.42 percent last week to end at $1,648.90 per ounce.

Still, gold was a top performer among SHFE metals. The most traded gold contract jumped 6.52 percent in 2012. The Comex contract was up about 5.1 percent for the year.