Feb 13 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper declined on Friday amid a broader sell-off, as Chinese investors left on the last trading day before the long Lunar New Year break.
The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange tumbled 1.97% to 100,660 yuan ($14,576.79) a metric ton as of 0245 GMT, but was set to end the week gaining 0.65%.
The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange, however, rose 0.63% to $12,957 a ton, hovering below the $13,000 mark, and is poised to end the week 0.32% lower.
The London benchmark tumbled 2.21% on Thursday.
Physical demand is falling in China ahead of the nine-day break to start on February 15. Spot copper premium, paid over the SHFE copper price, flipped back into a 60 yuan per ton discount on Thursday, indicating softening demand.
The Yangshan copper premium, a gauge of Chinese appetite for imported materials, fell to $34 a ton. Though an improvement from $20 in late January, the premium remains historically low and does not indicate a material revival in Chinese demand.
Copper's loss also came as a broader sell-off, led by tech shares, undefined was caught up in worries about artificial intelligence disruptions.
Elsewhere, tin and nickel were leading losses.
The Shanghai most active tin tumbled 3.89%, and the London benchmark tin lost 2.74%.
The Shanghai nickel pulled back 3.68%, while the London nickel dropped 0.91%.
Nickel's losses were due to profit-booking sales after Indonesia's latest move to cut mining quotas for the world's biggest nickel mine.
"However, demand is weakening as China moves rapidly toward nickel‑free LFP batteries, preventing any meaningful tightening in the market. Without a rebound in nickel‑rich chemistries adoption, upside remains limited," said analysts at ING in a note.
Among other SHFE base metals, aluminium declined 1.31%, zinc dropped 0.79% and lead dipped 0.42%.
Elsewhere on the LME, aluminium nudged 0.11% lower, zinc ticked 0.06% down and lead dipped 0.10%.
Friday, February 13
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1000 EU Total Trade Balance SA Dec
1000 EU GDP Flash Estimate QQ, YY Q4
1330 US Core CPI MM, SA Jan
1330 US Core CPI YY, NSA Jan
1330 US CPI MM, SA Jan
1330 US CPI YY, NSA Jan
1330 US CPI Wage Earner Jan
($1 = 6.9055 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Dylan Duan; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
