Copper price speculation dampens as traders take hiatus

The Chinese copper market reopened Friday after the weeklong Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

The most-traded copper contract for delivery in April climbed 0.16 percent on the Shanghai Futures Exchanges (SHFE) Friday compared to the last trading day before the holidays began on January 30, ending at 51,030 yuan ($8,413.99) per ton.

The trading volume shed by 96,788 lots Friday compared to January 30, as most investors were still immersed in the weeklong Chinese new year break and they didn't return to the market yet.

Meanwhile markets are awaiting direction from London Metal Exchange (LME) copper prices especially with the data release of US nonfarm payrolls Friday, according to a report from Shanghai Metals Market Friday, a website providing metals information.

For the global copper market, the benchmark three-month copper price on the LME finished at $7,141 per ton Friday, up 0.15 percent from the previous trading day, Reuters reported Friday.

Although Friday's data indicated fewer workers were hired by US employers which were fewer than expected in January, causing concerns over the sustained economic growth in the US, copper market was little affected by the data, Reu-ters reported Friday.

"The poor US data is probably more positive than negative, because it takes the pressure off expectations of tapering," according to Reuters Friday citing Wiktor Bielski, VTB Capital head of commodities research, referring to the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus program.

Some investors are expecting the increasing copper demand from China after the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, but the copper surplus is still a problem existing globally, including China, according to a report from Henan Province-based Futures Daily Friday.

In addition, China's official Purchasing Managers Index declined to 50.5 in January, compared with 51 in December, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on February 1.

The soft data also caused pessimistic sentiment and prompted caution about the outlook for copper demand, according to the report by Futures Daily.

Copper prices are very hard to boost hugely during a short term that investors should be cautious toward the investment over the market, according to the report by Futures Daily.