Copper falls 3% on lower China imports

Print this page Posted on : 02-12-2009 by recycleinme.com

Copper fell 3 per cent on Wednesday, dragging all industrial metals lower, on weak China copper imports and disappointment over the latest US financial rescue plans.

China's imports of unwrought copper and semi-finished copper products fell 18.8 per cent from December to 232,701 tonnes in January. Analysts were expecting levels similar to December's near two-year high.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell to a low of $3,387 a tonne. At 1114 GMT it was at $3,390 compared with $3,490 at the close on Tuesday.

Copper inventories in LME warehouses rose 2,025 tonnes to 516,450, and aluminium stocks jumped 12,875 tonnes to a record 2.92 million tonnes.

Aluminium was at $1,390 a tonne from $1,399. Nickel fell as much as 4.6 per cent to $10,300 a tonne.

Lead fell to $1,144 from $1,150 a tonne, zinc to $1,140 from $1,177. Tin dropped to $10,850 a tonne from $11,000.

Source : Business Line