BLBG: Copper Prices Decline as Recession Cuts Demand, Supplies Gain
Copper prices dropped more than 3 percent as the slumping global economy slashes metal demand, spurring an increase in inventories
Copper stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange jumped 2.8 percent today to 451,800 metric tons, the most since Dec. 17, 2003. Since June 30, supplies have more than tripled, driving prices down by 60 percent.
Inventories are “no doubt weighing on sentiment,” Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said in a report. “We still seem to be firmly mired in recessionary conditions.”
Copper futures for March delivery dropped 4.85 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $1.538 a pound at 9:20 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price surged 14 percent in the previous two sessions.
On the LME, copper for delivery in three months fell $161, or 4.5 percent, to $3,394 a metric ton ($1.54 a pound). The price rose to a record $8,940 on July 2.
