Copper prices slipped as investors took profits on long positions ahead of the Christmas break as growing doubts about demand growth in top consumer China reinforced the idea that recent gains were overdone. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange ended doen 0.9 percent at $5,469 a tonne. That compares with a one-month low of $5,419.5 a tonne hit on Thursday.
However, the metal used widely in power and construction is on track for its largest annual rise since 2010, although analysts note that prices have come from a low base. So far this year, copper is up around 16 percent, with much of that rise coming after Donald Trump won the US Presidential election. "US copper demand hardly matters on a global scale - it's about 1.8 million tonnes in a 22 million tonne market. Even if there is a push on US infrastructure, how is copper needed if you are talking about bridges and roads? It's not a game changer." said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke. "Some China data has been better of late, but look at the property market ... weekly volumes sales are reported to have turned negative in some cities."
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