London copper was on track for its first weekly climb since mid-May on Friday, buoyed by early signs that Chinese stimulus measures may be feeding into fragile support for the market, curbing the impact of a seasonal slowdown in demand.

Greece had failed again to clinch a deal with its international creditors on Thursday, setting up a last-ditch effort on Saturday to either avert a default next week or start preparing to protect the euro zone from financial market turmoil.

“Although the dollar has been strong, copper prices have been relatively stable. That suggests that people are becoming more optimistic,’’ said Jonathan Barratt, Chief Investment Officer at Sydney’s Ayers Alliance.

“We have advised our clients they should be taking on supply now at these levels because we think we are very close to a low.’’

The euro edged down as investors eyed weekend Greece talks.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up 0.1 per cent to $5,775.50 a tonne by 0735 GMT, after a small gain from the previous session. Prices were set to log a weekly climb of 2 per cent, but were still facing a monthly loss of 4 per cent for June.

Shanghai Futures Exchange copper climbed 0.8 per cent to 42,300 yuan ($6,813) a tonne.

Buyers in China domestic market have paid the highest premiums this week for spot refined copper since January as supplies fell this month and demand rose from makers of copper rods, tubes and cable, traders said.

Copper also remains supported by expectations mine supply could disappoint, with ore increasingly harder to access.

Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd said it would suspend copper production at its Quebrada Blanca operations in northern Chile after unexpected ground movement was observed near an ore leaching plant on Thursday.

In other metals, LME nickel sagged 1.2 per cent to $12,550, now teetering towards 6-year lows of $12,205 struck in mid April.

Traders have been shipping metal to China in the expectation the ShFE will list a broader array of brands for delivery against its new contract.

“The rise in Chinese refined nickel imports has everything to do with the new ShFE nickel contract, and nothing to do with stronger Chinese demand,’’ said Natixis in a note.

Backing up that theory, one Singapore-based trader noted a narrowing gap in China between premiums for domestic and global brands.

“I don’t think it’s consumption related,’’ he said.

Next week, markets will be eyeing an official gauge of China’s manufacturing health, as well as a US jobs report for clarity on the Federal Reserve’s timeline for raising interest rates.

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