Property sector uncertainty expected to hit copper prices

The most-traded copper contract for delivery in May rose by 0.14 percent on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) Friday, ending at 49,280 yuan ($8,000) per ton, down 2.44 percent week-on-week.

The trading volume for the contract shrank by 41,286 lots to 387,000 lots Friday.

Developers in East China's Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces started to cut prices of new homes at the end of February in order to lift sales, which has raised investors' concerns about the country's property market, according to a report by Ruida Futures last week.

There is also concern that curbs on credit for property developers could hit the real estate sector and have an impact on copper demand in China, the world's largest copper consumer, the report by Ruida said. Media reports last week said that some Chinese banks were planning to tighten up on credit for property developers.

"Worries about risks for the Chinese economy are pushing prices down. At the same time, demand has not resumed after the holiday," Li Chunlan, an analyst at Beijing-based consultancy CRU, was quoted as saying Thursday by Pakistan-based Business Recorder.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped to 50.2 percent in February, down from 50.5 percent in January.