According to the Futu Securities app, copper stocks continue to decline. As of the time of publication, Jiangxi Copper (00358) fell 3.88% to HKD 11.88; China Gold International (02099) fell 3.51% to HKD 28.85; Chinfmining (01258) fell 3.35% to HKD 4.62; MMG (01208) fell 2.88% to HKD 2.02.

On the news front, Shengyishang said that in early trading on Friday, London copper broke through resistance levels of $9,127 and $9,113 (200-day and 21-day moving averages) after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that non-farm employment in August was lower than expected, and reached an intraday high of $9,175.5. However, copper futures failed to hold on to the high position because the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in August, lower than July's 4.3%, indicating a orderly slowdown in the U.S. labor market, which means that the Federal Reserve may not need to cut interest rates significantly this month. This caused the U.S. dollar to rise, reducing the attractiveness of dollar-denominated metals to buyers using other currencies.

Citigroup stated that the manufacturing purchasing managers' index in the next two months is expected to remain weak, ruling out the possibility of an immediate rebound in metal prices supported by cyclical demand recovery. Goldman Sachs analysts pointed out in a previous report that the sharp decline in copper inventories will come much later than the bank previously expected. Goldman Sachs has lowered its copper price estimate for next year to $10,100 per tonne, and pushed back its estimate of copper prices reaching $12,000 to after 2025, from the previous estimate of the end of 2024. The bank has lowered its copper price forecast for next year by nearly $5,000 per tonne.