Copper Decline as China Probes Metals Warehouses

Copper fell to a three-week low in New York on concern that a probe into financing transactions at China’s Qingdao Port will curb demand in deals using the metal as collateral.

The port is assessing inventories in its bonded warehouses to see whether companies using copper as collateral for loans counted the same batches multiple times, said three people with direct knowledge of the investigation. The probe will make banks cautious about commodity financing, and any lending curbs would be bearish for copper, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. Prices have slid 1.1 percent this week.