Reuters reported that London copper sagged on caution ahead of key US employment data and is heading for its first weekly loss in the past month as slow Chinese demand and worries about Greece's drawn out debt deal took the steam out of last week's rally to 4 month highs.

Fundamentals;
1. Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.3% to USD 8,320 per tonne by 0116 GMT and down 2.4% so far this week.

2. The most traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.6% to CNY 59,500 per tonne.

3. US nonfarm payrolls are expected to have risen by 150,000 after increasing 200,000 in December, the dip mainly due to temporary workers hired during the Christmas season being laid off.

4. Ahead of that data, new claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell more than expected last week, pointing to further healing in the nation's battered jobs market.

5. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday defended the US central bank's policies against charges from Republican lawmakers that they risked sparking inflation, saying the economy still needs plenty of support.

6. Commodities trader Glencore is in talks to buy mining group Xstrata in an all share transaction that could create a combined group worth more than USD 79 billion shaking up the industry with its biggest deal to date.

(Sourced from Reuters)