Weak Chinese Data Drags on Copper Prices
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ScrapPrices
Published on January 15,2019 07:27 AM Metal Exchange
The industrial metal is down 20% from its June four-year highs
Weak Chinese Data Drags on Copper Prices

WSJ - Copper prices fell on Monday, hurt by the latest round of lukewarm Chinese economic data.

Front-month copper for January delivery fell 0.9% to $2.6455 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The industrial metal is down 20% from its June four-year highs and has largely traded sideways in recent weeks, hurt by fears that a slowdown in Chinese growth and tariffs will lower demand of materials heavily used in construction and manufacturing.

Chinese import and export figures largely undershot expectations, with the country importing much less copper in December than in November.

More broadly, tepid manufacturing data from China and around the world have stoked demand fears for a range of commodities and products in recent weeks.

“Headwinds to manufacturing sentiment have been broad-based, showing in both China, but also the U.S., where many market participants have been concerned over the ongoing trade dispute,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists said in a note.

However, a recent string of weak Chinese data may increase the likelihood of Chinese government stimulus, and that could slow the fall in copper prices, analysts said. Some think a U.S.-China trade compromise could also improve global growth sentiment.

Elsewhere in base metals, aluminum for delivery in three months fell 0.4% to $1,828 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. Zinc dropped 0.3% to $2,484, tin added 0.9% to $20,475, nickel was down 0.6% at $11,390 and lead fell 0.9% to $1,983.

Among precious metals, most-active Comex gold for February delivery inched up 0.1% to $1,291.30 a troy ounce, staying around its highest level since June. Silver futures finished up 0.2% at $15.686 a troy ounce, platinum shed 1.9% to $802.50 and palladium rose 0.3% to $1,282.

Courtesy : wsj.com

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