Industrial metals fell sharply on Friday, closing at their lowest levels in two months as poor U. S. jobs data reignited worries that global demand may take time to pick up.

Machinery orders in Japan, the world's second-largest economy, fell 9.3 percent in July from the previous month, in a sign corporate spending appetite may weigh on the country's efforts to crawl out of its deepest slump in decades.

A Russian government commission said it had recommended introducing a 5 percent nickel export duty on Dec 1. Recommendations by the Commission for Protective Measures in Foreign Trade must be signed by the prime minister to become law.

South African diversified miner Exxaro said on Friday it had restarted production at its Zincor refinery after a blast at the only plant of its kind in the country killed three workers and injured 12 others.

We expect base metals to show further weakness in today's session owing to the absence of Chinese participation and release of major economic data. However, the downside may be capped backed by the continuing weakness in the dollar.