METALS-Copper prices set for third weekly drop on demand concerns

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5% at $8,543.50 a tonne by 0322 GMT as the dollar slipped, making greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies. But the contract was down 0.7% on a weekly basis. The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.6% to 66,570 yuan ($9,635.40) a tonne and was down 0.4% on a weekly basis, on track for its third straight weekly decline. China's factory activity unexpectedly contracted in April as orders fell and poor domestic demand dragged on the sprawling manufacturing sector, a major consumer of metals, while copper scrap supply in China is improving, analysts said. Still, prices were cushioned by a softer dollar as traders priced in more aggressive rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve. LME aluminium edged up 0.2% at $2,291.50 a tonne, tin climbed 1% to $25,860 a tonne, zinc advanced 0.6% to $2,639 a tonne, lead increased 0.8% to $2,119 a tonne, while nickel eased 0.1% to $23,965 a tonne. SHFE aluminium fell 0.9% to 18,280 yuan a tonne, nickel dropped 2.4% to 182,680 yuan a tonne, lead decreased 0.3% to 15,315 yuan a tonne, tin fell 1.2% to 207,210 yuan a tonne while zinc rose 0.5% to 21,250 yuan a tonne. For the top stories in metals and other news, click or DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0600 Germany Industrial Orders MM March 0600 Germany Manufacturing O/P Cur Price SA March 0600 Germany Consumer Goods SA March 0830 UK All-Sector PMI April 1230 US Non-Farm Payrolls April 1230 US Unemployment Rate April
($1 = 6.9089 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)