Industrial metals lost the ground gained in earlier sessions as an unexpected drop in U. S. consumer confidence ignited a profit-taking correction across the broader industrial metals complex on Friday.

Copper was down from fresh 10-1/2 month highs amid renewed concerns about the health of the world's largest economy. It lost 2.13 percent on LME. Nickel shed the most, losing 5 percent each on MCX and LME.

Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has contracted Brazil's U & M Mining to help it mine for copper in Zambia as it seeks to raise output to 500,000 tonnes by 2011, the company said on Friday. . Copper cathode production at First Quantum Minerals' (FQM) Kansanshi Mining Plc in Zambia dropped to 45,073 tonnes in the first six months to June 2009 compared with 52,952 tonnes in the same period last year, the company said.

Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 20 percent from one week earlier, while aluminium inventories fell marginally, the exchange said on Friday. Copper inventories rose to 76,107 tonnes from
63,434 tonnes a week ago.

The trend in this complex may remain sideways to down during the day. We expect a further correction in base metals from these levels. We recommend selling aluminium and copper on rise.