Copper Trades Near Four-Year Low as Data Signals China Slowdown By Agnieszka de Sousa Dec 29, 2014 1:05 PM GMT+0300 Copper traded near a four-year low after data showed industrial profits in China fell, fueling speculation that demand from the largest metals user will weaken. China’s industrial profits fell the most in two years last month, according to National Bureau of Statistics data published Dec. 27. Copper also declined before a report due on Dec. 31 that is expected to show manufacturing in the country contracted. The London Metal Exchange resumed trading today after the Christmas holiday. Falling industrial profits data “predicts further poor demand for commodities,” RBC Capital Markets Ltd. said in a note today. Copper for delivery in three months on the LME fell 0.7 percent to $6,256.50 a metric ton by 9:34 a.m. in London. The metal headed for the lowest close since June 2010 and is down 15 percent this year. In New York, March copper futures on the Comex rose 0.1 percent to $2.818 a pound. The final December reading for HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics’ manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for China will be 49.5, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg before the data is released on Dec. 31. A reading below 50 signifies contraction. Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME were little changed at 171,850 tons, bourse data showed today. Inventories have fallen 53 percent in 2014. Canceled warrants, or orders to remove the metal from LME-approved depots, were also unchanged at 25,625 tons. The fee to borrow copper for one day jumped to as high as $12 a ton today. Two parties held between 50 to 79 percent of stockpiles and short-dated positions on the LME as of Dec. 22, according to the LME data last week. Aluminum for delivery in three months on the LME fell 0.4 percent to $1,854.25 a ton, the lowest since June 18. The metal fell 2.4 percent last week, a fifth straight decline. Open interest, or the number of outstanding futures, rose for a fourth day, according to LME data as of Dec. 23, rebounding from a four-year low. On the LME, tin, zinc, lead and nickel fell.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 15:42:05 +0000
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