Shanghai copper futures inched up Friday as traders were cautious ahead of US GDP data that was released later that day.

US GDP contracted 0.7 percent from January to March, the US Commerce Department reported Friday. The US economy grew 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), for August delivery, finished at 44,300 yuan ($7,145) per ton Friday, up 170 yuan from Thursday.

A total of 208,388 lots changed hands Friday, 73,404 fewer than on the previous trading day. The August contract shed 760 yuan or 1.69 percent for the week.

The benchmark three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6,022.50 a ton Friday, compared with $6,092 a ton Thursday.

Chinese industrial profits increased 2.6 percent year-on-year to 479.5 billion yuan in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday, in a sign that Chinese central bank's easing measures may finally be helping the real economy, according to a Reuters report Wednesday.

Copper is getting little help from the economic outlook in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal.

"Even if you get some early signs which show you some improvement ... the macro story in China doesn't look good," according to the Reuters report Wednesday, citing analyst Dominic Schnider of UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.

"The only area that is more debatable is the supply side. Here copper gives you a little bit of an edge. We are still calling for a $6,350 short-term target - three months - with room to go for $6,700 in the second half," Schnider said.

For a short term, the strong dollar will continue to weigh on copper prices, according to a report from Xiamen-based Ruida Futures Co Friday. Also, domestic copper demand is still limited in the short term so investors should be cautious about investing, the report said.

Global Times