(MENAFN) Copper prices in Shanghai rose slightly on Friday amid subdued trading ahead of the highly anticipated United States non-farm payrolls report, according to a report by Reuters. However, the base metal was on track to record a slight weekly loss due to ongoing macroeconomic pressures. The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed the daytime trade 0.6 percent higher at 69,040 yuan (USD10,041.89) a ton, but has still lost 0.6 percent for the week. Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by SHFE fell at a slower rate on Friday, declining 0.5 percent week on week to 155,761 tons.

Meanwhile, trading on the London Metal Exchange was closed due to the Good Friday holiday, resulting in a 1.5 percent decline in three-month LME copper for the week. Copper prices are often seen as an economic barometer, and touched their lowest in more than two weeks on Wednesday following weak US economic data that fueled fears of a recession.

In addition, the dollar index dipped on Friday in thin trading as investors pondered how the pivotal United States jobs data, which was released on a stock trading holiday, might impact the Federal Reserve's policy and unleash a potentially volatile market reaction. The market will likely continue to monitor copper prices closely as a gauge of global economic health and stability in the coming weeks.

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