LME copper ended at $6,265/mt on Friday, $125 down.

"An unemployment rate below 10 percent is not a bad sign – it was generally mixed jobless (data), but overall, in the wider scheme of things it did not really matter," said Michael Widmer, analyst at BofA Merrill Lynch.

"Sovereign debt remains a critical issue right now, it's indirectly related to metals but it's overall a concern about the strength of economic recovery."

"Sentiment in the market has really turned," said Sterling Smith, an analyst for Country Hedging Inc in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"We're looking for consolidation at best over the next week. The bottom line is there is more reason for the bulls to keep their hands in their pockets than there is for them to come in here and really look to be buying this," he said.

"Concerns over Chinese policy tightening, the potential for a European sovereign default and uncertainty over U.S. policy have put downward pressure on commodity prices even as near-term fundamentals improve," said Goldman Sachs in a note.

"Although prices will likely remain volatile, we believe fundamentals will dominate, with a strong risk-reward trade-off for fresh longs."

Among other LME metals:

Copper    $6,265  -$125

Aluminium $1,980   -$65

Zinc      $1,940   -$81

Lead      $1,940   -$25

Tin      $15,350  -$800

Nickel   $17,005  -$720