Copper prices hurt by US jobs figures

Copper prices were down Friday as investors reacted to a new report from the US Labor Department which showed that the US economy lost 131,000 jobs in July, more than expected, as some temporary census jobs ended.

Along with the loss of jobs overall, the private sector added just 71,000 jobs, well short of the 100,000 jobs expected to be created and begging the question of whether the US economic recovery is going as well as had been hoped.

September contracts for copper fell 1 cent to $2.24 per pound in New York trade, while three-month contracts for the metal were down $30 to $7,370 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange, with the declines coming as the disappointing jobs numbers created fears of declines in demand.

Other base metals prices were mixed as lead dropped $20 to $2,165 per tonne in London trade, but zinc added $32 to $2,129 per tonne and nickel gained $215 to ‘$22,075 per tonne after South African miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was ordered by the government there to stop selling nickel and other non-platinum metals.

Aluminium and tin were both untraded at the end of the session, but last bids were down $13 to $2,190 per tonne and up $250 to $20,725 per tonne respectively.

Among precious metals, December gold added $6 to $1,205.30 per troy ounce in New York, helped higher by concerns over the US jobs report and after the US dollar weakened, while September silver added 15 cents to $18.47 per troy ounce.