Dow Jones - Copper futures have trodden water and closed flat on the London Metal Exchange (LME).
At the PM kerb close on Friday, LME three-month copper was unchanged on the day at $US7,155 a metric ton.
Aluminium also was flat, closing at $US1,772 a ton.
Base-metal trade was quiet Friday, with little macro-economic news and data to drive prices.
"Copper turnover has been particularly muted, with prices trading sideways," said Standard Bank analyst Leon Westgate.
"The Chinese market remains rather low key, though fresh selling interest has started to emerge."
Copper prices found some support from continued declines in inventory of the metal held in LME-registered warehouses, however, said Deutsche Bank.
LME copper stocks have fallen 21 per cent since the start of the year to 289,600 metric tons on February 19, the latest data available.
While economic data from around the world remains weak, the "ongoing LME inventory drawdown has prevented additional sell-off," Xao Fu, an analyst with Deutsche Bank, said in a note to clients.
Copper inventories are widely considered an indicator of the global balance between mine supply and industrial demand, and declines in the stocks are seen as a sign of increased metal purchases.
