Copper Declines to One-Week Low on Concern Demand in China, U.S. May Ease
Copper prices fell to a one-week low on concern that cooling economies in the U.S. and China will erode demand for the metal used in pipes and wires.
Reports in China, the world’s biggest metal user, showed the pace of increases in imports and property prices slowed in July. Equities fell in the U.S., Europe and Asia as traders trimmed bets that the Federal Reserve will take additional steps to spur growth.
“People are running to safety again,” said Donald Selkin, the chief market strategist at National Securities Corp. in New York. “There’s a lot of caution ahead about the strength of the economy. People are taking a step back and waiting to see what the Fed will do.”
Copper futures for September delivery slid 4.15 cents, or 1.2 percent, to close at $3.3125 a pound at 1:28 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price touched $3.2715, the lowest level for a most-active contract since July 30.
Feb Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on July 21 that the economic outlook “remains unusually uncertain.” The Federal Open Market Committee plans to release a policy statement at 2:15 p.m. today in Washington.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index slid the most in six weeks after the slowest pace of import growth in nine months added to evidence of a moderation in the country’s expansion.
Shipments of copper into China climbed in July for the first time in four months.
“At the macro level, July’s trade data confirmed that activity in the trade sector is cooling,” said Daniel Major, an analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets in London. “But from a commodity perspective, copper-import numbers were supportive.”
Copper for delivery in three months fell $125, or 1.7 percent, to $7,300 a metric ton ($3.31 a pound) on the London Metal Exchange.
Aluminum, nickel, tin, lead and zinc prices also dropped.
To contact the reporters on the story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net; Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net.
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