Copper Futures Drop as Scrap Demand Ebbs, China Concerns Mount

Copper fell, capping the biggest weekly drop in three months, as signs of slowing scrap-metal purchases and bank lending in China fueled concern that demand will weaken as the global economy sputters.

Scrap discounts to new metal widened 25 percent in the past three months as demand slumped in China, the world’s biggest user, according to Metalsco Inc., a St. Louis-based recycler. In China, banks extended 623.2 billion yuan ($99.5 billion) of loans last month, below the 700 billion yuan median estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. In September, copper rose the most since January as central banks expanded stimulus measures.