gely expected, withChinese inflation only easing modestly to 5.3 percent in Aprilfrom a 32-month top of 5.4 percent in March.
"There were widespread expectations that a hike would comesometime after the May 1 holidays. After the CPI figures werereleased, people were convinced that the hike was imminent,"said Jinhui Futures deputy general manager Lin Yu Hui.
Shanghai CIFCO Futures analyst Zhou Jie said the currentrise in copper prices suggested the market was looking forwardto a short respite in China's tightening campaign.
"We won't see a similar hike, at least in the short term,and investors feel safe to buy for now. The shorts are alsotrying to cover their positions, taking some profit
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But some analysts warn of more volatility in commodityprices due to uncertainty over the euro zone debt crisis andmore tightening measures by Beijing.
The euro was flat against the dollar on Friday but remainedabove a six-week low
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Despite bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal
louboutins clearance NFL Youth Jerseys othercompanies, Europe'sdebt crisis may yet spread to core euro zone countries andemerging Eastern Europe
louboutins clearance , the International Monetary Fund said.[ID:nLDE74B1DS]
Investor attention turns to U.S. consumer price data forApril due later in the day. On Thursday, upward revisions toMarch U.S. retail sales data suggested consumer spending in thefirst quarter might have been stronger than initially thought,although April's data posted its smallest rise in nine months.[ID:nN12296928] Base metals prices at 0701 GMT Metal Last Change Pct Move YTD pct chg LME Cu 8837.25 112.25 +1.29 -7.95 SHFE CU FUT JUL1 66450 2230 +3.47 -7.52 LME Alum 2629.50 14.50 +0.55 6.46 SHFE AL FUT JUL1 16735 135 +0.81 -0.62 HG COPPER JUL1