Keeping metals under pressure, the euro fell to a nine-day low against the dollar after the Bundesbank announcement. A stronger dollar makes dollar-priced metals more expensive for European and other non-US investors. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange rose to a session high of $8,065.25 a tonne after the payrolls data and ended up at $8,035 a tonne from $8,000 at the close on Thursday. Copper has gained around 4 percent since the start of November, mostly based on the view that the economy in China, which consumes about 40 percent of the world's copper, bottomed in the third quarter and should improve going forward.
"The US economy will be positive for copper but at the margins. Through to the year-end it's possible we're going to continue (rising), but I expect it to pull back next year. China is doing a bit better, but it's no longer double-digit growth," Justin Lennon of Mitsui Bussan Commodities said.
Chinese industrial production figures due at the weekend and a meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next week to discuss interest rates will also be scrutinised for signs of economic recovery and future policy. In the meantime, investors remained anxious about negotiations by US political leaders to head off steep tax hikes and spending cuts that could tips the economy into recession, with the deadline about three weeks away.
The task of avoiding the so-called "fiscal cliff" was down to talks between Republican House Speaker John A. Boehner and President Barack Obama, according to Capitol Hill aides. Sentiment in the copper market was also affected by data showing that Americans' outlook on the economy and their finances took a turn for the worse in early December due likely to anxiety about the potential for higher taxes and spending cuts. Traders were busy putting together term copper shipment deals for 2013, with Chinese smelters and miners likely to forge agreements of $70 dollars per tonne and 7 cents per pound for treatment and refining charges (TC/RC), Macquarie said in a note.
China's smelters received term 2012 TC/RC at $60 and 6 cents from BHP for Escondida concentrates and $63.5 and 6.35 cents from Freeport, both seen as benchmarks in Asia. Global miners pay TC/RC to smelters to convert concentrate into refined metal, and the charges are deducted from the sale price based on LME copper prices. Higher charges are typically seen when concentrate supply rises. Three-month nickel closed up at $17,225 a tonne from a last bid of $17,175 on Thursday.
Three-month tin ended down at $21,775 a tonne from a close of $21,925, while zinc closed little changed to $2,028 a tonne from $2,030 at Thursday's close. Lead ended at $2,215 a tonne from a last bid of $2,214, and aluminium closed at $2,089 a tonne from a last offer on Thursday of $2,085.