Copper prices fell on Friday and were set for a weekly loss as rising stockpiles and dire economic data around the world hammered home fears that demand will remain weak despite a rebound in Chinese factory activity.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.3% at $5,185 a tonne at 1613 GMT and more than 1.5% lower this week - its biggest weekly loss since late March.

Copper fell around 30% from mid-January to mid-March, hitting a four-year low of $4,371 as the coronavirus spread across the globe, shutting industry.

Copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses rose 30% this week to 278,750 tonnes, the highest since October.

Inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) stores increased 2.3% to 208,890 tonnes. LME aluminium was down 0.9% at $1,462 a tonne, zinc was 0.2% higher at $1,961, nickel fell 1.8% to $11,855, lead lost 1.2% to $1,600 and tin was down 0.9% at $14,900.