Shanghai copper falls

The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.3 percent to close at 59,620 yuan ($9,500) a tonne. The weaker outlook in European and Chinese manufacturing activity cut short copper's rally earlier in the week. But traders said the fact that losses had been modest meant there is underlying strength in the market, which could be well spurred by any sign of pickup in Chinese demand.
Underscoring weak Chinese physical demand, stocks in Shanghai warehouses hit their highest level in nearly a decade last week, and dropped by just more than 1,000 tonnes to 216,086 tonnes this week.