Copper prices edged higher on Friday on optimism about growth in top metals consumer China, but uncertainty over upcoming US inflation data kept a lid on the upside.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.2% to $9,550 a tonne at 1100 GMT.
"Manufacturing is the stronghold, in the sense that the Western world still buys a lot of stuff from China, which was in the export data, so this is supporting Chinese demand at this moment," said analyst Carsten Menke at Julius Baer in Zurich.
But this alone was not enough to make a bullish case for copper because the other two pillars of Chinese copper demand - property and infrastructure - were lagging, Menke added.
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"Prices should hover around this level, $9,500, and maybe trend a little bit lower, but I don't see why prices should move higher from here."
Customs data this week showed China's copper imports in November rose for a third straight month while overall exports increased 22%, more than expected.
"We're probably more likely to see a bit of an acceleration in consumption in the early part of next year, as the latest data out of China suggests that maybe it is indeed coming through in terms of import-export activity," said Guy Wolf, global head of market analytics at broker Marex.
Investors will keep a close watch on US consumer prices data due at 1330 GMT, where a higher number could build a case for a quicker Fed stimulus tapering and earlier than expected interest rate rises.
Zinc fell 0.3% to $3,299.50 after LME daily inventory data showed a jump of 14,025 tonnes to 164,425, interrupting a months-long trend of outflows.
LME aluminium rose 0.4% to $2,636 a tonne, nickel gained 0.2% to $19,920, tin edged up 0.1% to $39,550, but lead dropped 1.2% to $2,257.50.
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