Copper sees slight fall as uncertainties weigh on sentiment

The most-traded copper contract for delivery in May declined by 0.45 percent on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) Friday compared to Thursday, ending at 48,920 yuan ($7,988.70) per ton. It also decreased by 0.73 percent week-on-week. The trading volume expanded by 2,154 lots to 134,000 lots Friday.

Friday's fall in copper on the SHFE came as cautious investors awaited news of the US employment situation, amid low expectations for Friday's US payrolls data, according to a report Friday by London-based metal information provider Metal Bulletin.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in his government work report Wednesday that the country's economic growth target for 2014 would be around 7.5 percent.

This target will probably involve "some easing of the reform agenda, which is likely supportive for bulks as the pressure to reduce steel capacity may temporarily ease," according to a report e-mailed to the Global Times Friday by Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group.

The news also propped up investor sentiment slightly in the global copper market, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. Investors hope China can maintain its robust demand for commodities in general and for metals in particular, as it would support prices this year, the report said.

China is the world's largest consumer of base metals, and accounts for nearly 40 percent of global copper demand.

China's imports of major commodities were quite strong in February, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs Saturday. But the price of industrial commodities such as copper still fell in February, according to a report from Reuters Saturday.

Uncertainties over domestic demand for copper and overcapacity in the sector, both domestically and globally, are negative factors that will continue to weigh on prices, according to a report from Xiamen-based Ruida Futures Co last week.