Copper Slumps Into Bear Market as Fed Assessment Hurts Outlook

Copper tumbled into a so-called bear market, slumping for a fifth day, after the Federal Reserve said that the U.S. economy faces “significant downside risks,” eroding prospects for industrial-metals demand.

The three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange declined as much as 3.6 percent to $8,005.25 per metric ton, the lowest price since Nov. 17. That’s 21 percent below the record $10,190 a ton set on Feb. 15, more than the 20 percent drop that’s regarded by some investors as signaling a bear market. The metal traded at $8,027.75 as of 4:42 p.m. Tokyo time.