Copper slips as demand outlook stays weak; metal down for 3rd week

• China, whose economy has been hurt by the prolonged trade war with the United States, accounts for around half of global copper demand.
• Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.8% by 0634 GMT to $5,619 a tonne, declining 2.6% so far this week.
• Copper is consumed widely in the power and construction sectors and often used to gauge global economic health.

SINGAPORE: London copper prices fell on Friday and were headed for their third straight weekly fall as demand outlook for the red metal remained weak amid a prolonged trade war between the United States and China.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.8% by 0634 GMT to $5,619 a tonne, declining 2.6% so far this week.

"Copper prices remain particularly weak ... as sentiment surrounding the global economy has weakened further in recent days following weak PMI numbers of out China and the United States," Fitch Solutions said in a report.

Copper is consumed widely in the power and construction sectors and often used to gauge global economic health. China, whose economy has been hurt by the prolonged trade war with the United States, accounts for around half of global copper demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

* NICKEL: Nickel prices rose 0.1% and were set for their first weekly gain in three, as headline inventories in LME-approved warehouses <MNISTX-TOTAL> dropped to 140,904 tonnes, their lowest since December 2012.

* "Nickel prices continue to perform well among base metals on a year-to-date basis as supply fears remain firmly in place for that market," Fitch Solutions said.

* NICKEL SPREAD: LME cash nickel has been at premiums over the three-month nickel <MNI0-3> for more than seven weeks and was at a $150 premium on Thursday, latest data showed, indicating tight nearby supplies.

* PRICES: LME zinc fell 0.2%, lead dipped 0.1%, while aluminium and tin were flat in low-volume as China is closed for a long holiday until Oct. 7.

* ANTOFAGASTA: Chile's Antofagasta, a major copper miner, negotiated on Thursday with workers hoping to stave off a strike at its small Antucoya deposit in Chile, though union leaders said there had been little progress in discussions.

* PAN PACIFIC: Pan Pacific Copper, Japan's biggest copper smelter, said on Friday it plans to produce 302,000 tonnes of refined copper between October and March, up 1.9% from a year earlier.