By Millie Munshi Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices fell as global manufacturing contracted, heightening concern that demand will wane for the metal used in appliances, cars and electronics. Purchasing managers’ indexes in Europe, Russia, China and South Africa showed record declines, and India’s exports in October fell for the first time in seven years. Copper fell for the fifth straight month in November, tumbling 9.8 percent and capping the longest stretch of declines since early 1999. “The release of another batch of very weak macro data is likely to ultimately weigh on prices,” Barclays Capital in London said in a report. “Very weak Chinese and Indian manufacturing data bodes ill for metal consumption. Copper futures for March delivery dropped 2.1 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $1.6285 a pound at 9:26 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Before today, the price tumbled 61 percent from a record $4.2605 on May 5. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months declined $20, or 0.6 percent, to $3,600 a metric ton ($1.63 a pound). To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net.

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