Copper was trading at $7,941.50 on Friday against $8,131.00 the previous Friday at the close.

The price of gold, which had fallen sharply last Friday, failed to recover during the week despite US data which could have benefited it.

Several analysts have indeed pointed out that inflation is rising in the United States. This "should benefit gold, even if it doesn't happen as quickly as we expected," commented Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank.

The yellow metal, independent of central banks, is traditionally seen as an investment against inflation.

But the US bond rate and the dollar, whose rises are weighing on gold, tipped the balance in the other direction.

"Future President Joe Biden unveiled his $1.9 trillion plan, discussions on inflation forecasts will be going well in Washington", which promises to shake up the price of gold in the coming weeks, estimated Lukman Otunuga, analyst at FXTM.

Around 5:10 p.m. GMT (6:10 p.m. in Paris), an ounce of gold traded at 1,830.15 dollars, against 1,849.01 dollars at the end of the session the previous Friday.

COPPER SEES RED
The price of copper fell this week on the London Metal Exchange (LME) but remained at a high level, in a market attentive to the economic situation in China, which consumes half of the world's production of red metal.

Chinese customs also published the latest import data for December on Thursday (up 6.5% year on year), a "high figure which is also reflected in basic products", noted Daniel Briesemann, from Commerzbank.

"Although China imported only 512,000 tons of raw copper in December - the lowest figure in seven months - copper imports in 2020 as a whole hit a record high of 6.68 million tons, or an increase of 34% compared to the previous year”, continued the analyst.

This suggests “that China has bought more copper than it really needed”, according to him, a situation which contributes to the backtracking of prices.

In addition, the Asian giant recorded Thursday the first death due to Covid-19 on its territory for eight months, according to the National Health Commission, a sign that the pandemic is not eradicated in the country.

Copper, however, remains at a high level close to 8,000 dollars per tonne, after breaking last Friday a new record since the beginning of 2013 at 8,238.00 dollars per tonne.

On the LME, a tonne of copper for delivery in three months traded at 7,941.50 dollars on Friday at 5:10 p.m. GMT (6:10 p.m. in Paris), against 8,131.00 dollars the previous Friday at the close.

COTTON IS GOING TO THE HEIGHTS
Cotton prices hit their highest levels in more than two years this week, driven by the downward revision of US supply in the face of strong Chinese demand.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) “has further lowered its figure for the 2020/21 crop,” Commerzbank analyst Michaela Helbing-Kuhl reported.

"This volume has been continuously adjusted downwards since the summer due to smaller crop areas and lower than expected yields," she continued, but demand, particularly from China, "is strong."

The report pointed out that China accounted for half of US cotton exports over the past five months.

The pound of cotton for March delivery in New York was worth 81.03 cents on Friday around 5:10 p.m. GMT (6:10 p.m. in Paris), against 79.77 seven days earlier, and after reaching 82.08 cents on Wednesday, a price not seen since September 2018.