Sushil Finance expects base metal prices to trade mixed as weak Chinese economy would drag prices down and short covering after a slump is likely. Copper rose on Friday on near term supply tightness, but remained near recent three-month lows on worries over an expected supply surge and weak demand from top consumer China.

For the first six months of the year, the copper market was in a 526,000 tons deficit compared with a 139,000 tons surplus in the same period a year earlier, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said last week. But investors are expecting a surge of copper supply going forward. Limiting gains in copper were concerns about demand in China, which consumes some 45 percent of the world's copper.

China's economy got off to a weak start this year as first-quarter growth cooled to a six-quarter low of 7.4%. Beijing responded with a flurry of stimulus measures that pushed the pace up slightly to 7.5% in the second quarter, but soft July and August data suggest the boost is rapidly waning, it said.

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