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Copper and aluminium fell on Friday as caution prevailed ahead of possible U.S.-Iran peace talks at the weekend.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.5% at $13,209 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading but is up 3% this week after touching its highest since March 2 at $13,392.50 on Wednesday.
Aluminium was down 0.4% at $3,630 a ton in official activity after hitting a four-year high of $3,672 in the previous session on expectations that the global aluminium market will face a supply deficit this year because of the Iran war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the next meeting between the United States and Iran could take place over the weekend, adding that he believed the U.S. was "very close to making a deal with Iran".
However, Iranian sources told Reuters that some "gaps remained to be resolved" before a preliminary deal can be reached.
Strong prices for copper, aluminium and other metals drove the LME's index of six base metals contracts to a record high on Thursday on supply worries and investment from the wider financial system. Global equities were trading near record highs on Friday on the hopes for a peace deal.
Nickel rose 1.7% to $18,550 a ton after hitting $18,640 for its highest since January 29. Nickel is up 7.7% this week, poised for its strongest weekly growth in two years owing to expectations of reduced supply after Indonesia revised its ore price formula.
Among other LME metals, zinc added 0.7% to $3,446.50 a ton after hitting $3,453 for its highest since February 11. Lead gained 0.7% to $1,967 and tin lost 0.4% to $49,900.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt Additional reporting by Amy Lv Editing by David Goodman)





















