Copper heads for weekly loss on firm dollar as traders assess US job data

SHANGHAI: Copper slipped on Friday and was set for a weekly loss, as a firm US dollar and mixed September jobs data kept investors cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s December interest rate decision, with China’s subdued demand adding further pressure.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 0.82% to 85,670 yuan ($12,045.16)a metric ton as of 0330 GMT, set for a weekly loss of 1.42%.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.39% to $10,696.5 a ton, poised to end the week down 1.41%.

The September job data on Thursday, which was delayed due to the government shutdown, offered mixed signals to the Fed, with policymakers pondering the December rate decision, showing stronger-than-expected growth in new hiring but a rise in the jobless rate to a near four-year high.

The delayed September data will be the last official job data before the December interest rate decision.

Dollar remained strong as many Fed officials were still hawkish, weighing on commodities traded with the greenback by making them more expensive for investors using other currencies.

Meanwhile, demand from China remained weak as prices remained at an elevated level this year.

Shanghai copper surged more than 16% in 2025, while its London peer spiked 22% this year.

The Yangshan copper premium, a gauge of Chinese appetite for imported copper, was at $33 a ton the latest, down from a peak of above $100 in early May this year.

Elsewhere among SHFE base metals, aluminium declined 1.04%, zinc was little changed, nudging 0.04% lower, lead dropped 0.43%, nickel tumbled 1.70% and tin lost 1.27%.

Among other LME metals, aluminium dropped 0.73%, zinc declined 0.86%, lead shed 0.45%, nickel lost 0.59% and tin was down 1.01%.