Copper Drops to Near 3.11 on China’s Factory Output

Copper futures slumped the most in 10 weeks as industrial production trailed analyst estimates in China, the world’s largest consumer. Metals from aluminum to zinc declined.

Industrial output expanded 9 percent in July, Chinese government figures showed today. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey expected a 9.2 percent gain, matching the increase in June. The country’s broadest measure of credit slumped to the lowest since the global financial crisis in 2008. Japan’s economy contracted the most since the 2011 earthquake. A gauge of metals fell as much as 1.4 percent to a six-week low.

“A barrage of potentially negative influences” drove prices lower, Michael Turek, a senior director at Newedge USA LLC in New York, said in an e-mail.  Copper futures for September delivery declined 1.3 percent to settle at $3.112 a pound at 1:14 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the biggest drop for a most-active contract since June 4. Earlier, the price touched $3.11, the lowest since June 23. Trading was 58 percent above the average in the past 100 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg

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