London - Copper slipped on Friday as concerns about slowing global growth raised fears on the outlook for demand, with the focus turning to expectations of an economic revival in top consumer China to push prices higher.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased to $7,575.50 a tonne at 11:19 SA time, down 0.5 percent from Thursday's close of $7,610 a tonne.
Prices hit a two-week high of $7,645.25 this week, and are set to close the week 2 percent higher.
But prices are still down by almost 5 percent this year and are trading not far from eight month lows of $7,331.25 hit on April 4.
“Data out of China has been as expected and in some cases slightly better. But it doesn't show an economy that is really taking off and the government doesn't want the economy to move ahead too rapidly,” said Robin Bhar, analyst at Societe Generale.
“People are doubting the commodity supercycle as they are seeing markets much better supplied than they were in the past. The facts tell us it's a pretty soft picture out there.”
Focus will be on China's first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) due on Monday.
The country's annual rate of economic growth likely nudged higher in the first three months of 2013 versus the last quarter of 2012, with fixed asset investment and factory output growth in double digits cementing a mild rebound, according to a Reuters poll.
Also adding to evidence ample credit was greasing a recovery, Chinese banks made 1.06 trillion yuan ($171.2 billion) of new local currency loans in March.
Highlighting concerns about the outlook for the global economy, Reuters polls suggested this year now looks unlikely to deliver much improvement in the world economy's growth rate, with a weaker outlook for Europe and the United States tempering the cautious optimism evident in January.
STERLITE DECISION
An Indian fast-track environmental court hearing is due on Friday over the closure of the country's largest copper smelter run by Sterlite Industries Ltd.
The closure has already pushed up premiums to get metal in Asia while shipments of concentrate that are not needed due to the shutdown have been re-routed to China, helping the country boost its second quarter output and curbing its demand for refined metal.
Aluminium slipped to $1,886.25 from $1,898 on Thursday while zinc fell to $1,891.50 from $1,914.
Tin was at $22,836 from $22,860, nickel fell to $16,130 from $16,270 and lead slipped to $2,074.50 from $2,085. - Reuters