LONDON - Copper prices ticked down to their lowest in more than a month on Friday as top metals consumer China extended COVID restrictions and concerns continued about a potential recession, but they pared losses after upbeat U.S. jobs data.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.4% to $7,568 a tonne at 1410 GMT, after earlier touching its lowest since July 27 at $7,510.

Some districts of China's southern tech hub Shenzhen extended COVID curbs on Friday, but stopped short of a full lockdown, while the megacity of Chengdu went into lockdown late on Thursday.

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, said the curbs in China would have an impact on both supply and demand.

"If smelters are shut down you will have less supply, but it also means less consumption, so it's a double-edged sword," he said.

"One main reason we're seeing prices move to the downside is the way central banks are reacting is concerning investors and traders who are worried about a potential recession."

Copper and other metals pared losses or went into positive territory after better than expected U.S jobs numbers.

The data showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in August, but moderate wage growth and a rise in the unemployment rate to 3.7% could ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to deliver a third 75-basis-point interest rate hike this month.

Market participants are increasingly concerned that Europe's energy crisis will impact demand, according to ANZ research.

The EU is likely to place restrictions on gas consumption in heavy industry if shortages persist, and these demand concerns are outweighing supply-side issues, it added.

Helping aluminium prices outperform was news that Dutch aluminium maker Aldel was mothballing the remaining capacity at its facility in Farmsum, citing continuing high energy prices and a lack of government support.

LME three-month aluminium rose 0.2% to $2,298.50 a tonne, lead added 0.3% to $1,906 and nickel gained 1.2% to $20,545, but zinc dropped 3.3% to $3,150.50 and tin dropped 1.8% to $20,675 after hitting a 20-month low.

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(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Jan Harvey and Shailesh Kuber)