BEIJING: London copper fell on Wednesday after data from top consumer China underlying its economic weakness exacerbated demand concerns, with a firm US dollar also hurting the metal.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) slid 0.5% to $8,314.50 per metric ton by 0434 GMT.
Meanwhile, the most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was unchanged at 67,810 yuan ($9,424.47) per ton.
The world’s second biggest economy slightly missed analysts’ expectation for fourth-quarter economic growth, although Bejining met its annual growth target of around 5%.
December activity indicators showed retail sales grew at the slowest pace since September, new home prices fell at the fastest pace since February 2015, and investment growth remained tepid, though industrial output showed signs of improvement.
Production of 10 nonferrous metals, including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel, rose 7.1% to 74.7 million tons in 2023, a record high.
A steady dollar also weighed on the market, as a stronger dollar makes the greenback-priced commodity more expensive for buyers.
The dollar index hovered near a one-month high, as remarks by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller dampened expectations for a March rate cut.
Copper prices decline
Analysts at ING said the short-term copper demand outlook will remain bearish to neutral, and a substantial recovery in prices will not occur before the second quarter of the year, the starting point for Fed rate cuts.
LME nickel edged up 0.1% to $16,165 a ton, tin moved 0.5% higher to $25,310, while lead was down 0.6% at $2,091, zinc declined 0.5% to $2,535, and aluminium slid 0.5% to $2,203.
SHFE nickel rose 0.5% to 127,640 yuan, tin advanced 2.6% to 214,390 yuan, aluminium added 0.2% to 18,865 yuan, while lead edged down 0.1% to 16,200 yuan, and zinc lost 0.6% to 21,165 yuan.
Source: Brecorder
