Copper Drops to 3.034 on China’s Demand Concerns

Copper retreated for a second day and nickel extended its longest weekly slump in 13 years on concern that demand will remain weak in China, the world’s biggest consumer of industrial metals.

Copper in London fell as much as 0.5 percent and nickel slid as much as 0.7 percent. China’s economic growth will slow to 7.2 percent in the current quarter, Song Guoqing, an academic member of the People’s Bank of China monetary policy advisory committee, said on Oct. 25. The second-biggest economy in the world may expand 7.3 percent next year, according to Song. China set the 2014 growth target at 7.5 percent.

“The outlook for China’s economic growth is expected not to be positive,” said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at Fujitomi Co., a commodities broker in Tokyo. “That’s not good news for metals.”  Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.4 percent to $6,665 a metric ton by 11:02 a.m. in Tokyo after gaining 0.8 percent last week. New York futures for December delivery slid 0.4 percent to $3.028 a pound, while the January contract in Shanghai dropped 0.7 percent to 47,060 yuan ($7,697) a ton.

Bloomberg

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