RTRS: Copper falls to 1-week low after U.S. employment data
* U.S. private employers add 13,000 jobs in June
* Aluminium stocks fall
* Coming up: U.S. Chicago PMI for June; 1345 GMT
(Recasts, updates prices)
By Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Copper tumbled to a one-week low
on Wednesday after weak U.S. employment data raised the prospect
of further losses as markets fretted about global economic
growth and demand.
Copper for three-month delivery CMCU3 on the London Metal
Exchange was trading at $6,473 a tonne at 1246 GMT from a close
of $6,494 on Tuesday.
Earlier the metal used as a gauge of economic activity fell
to $6,439.50 a tonne, its lowest since June 18. It is on course
for its first quarterly loss since the last quarter of 2008 when
it fell below $3,000 a tonne.
Private employers in the world's largest economy, the United
States, added a paltry 13,000 jobs in June, compared with a
revised gain of 57,000 in May, a report by a payrolls processor
showed on Thursday. [ID:nEAP102300]
"People are pretty downbeat at the moment ... so we continue
to see people taking risk off the table, sitting on high levels
of cash," said Dan Smith, analyst at Standard Chartered.
But news that banks sought less funds than expected from the
European Central Bank helped buoy sentiment. [ID:nLDE65T0SD]
"It suggests there's less stress in the banking sector than
people might have feared," Smith said.
Traders also said the weaker dollar, which makes metals
priced in the U.S. currency cheaper for holders of other
currencies, would help support prices. [USD/]
But news that business activity in New York dipped in June
from record levels in May checked confidence. [ID:nNLLTHE67C]
KAZAKHMYS VIEW
Kazakhstan-based metals group Kazakhmys PLC (KAZ.L), one of
the world's 10-biggest copper producers, expects copper prices
to fall in the wake of an economic growth slowdown in China, the
company's head said on Wednesday.[ID:nLDE65T06H]
LME copper is headed for a quarterly loss of more than 15
percent.
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For a graphic of the year to date performance for LME
metals:
here
For a graphic on Shanghai metals:
here
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Aluminium CMAL3 was trading at $1,941 a tonne from $1,950
a tonne on Tuesday. The metal used in transport and packaging
earlier hit $1,931, its lowest since June 23.
Offering the demand picture some support, stocks of
aluminium at LME warehouses have been on the decline, last
falling 5,475 tonnes to around 4.4 million tonnes, down from a
record above 4.6 million tonnes hit earlier this year.
Zinc CMZN3 was at $1,745 a tonne from $1,743 and battery
material lead CMPB3 was at $1,701 a tonne from $1,720.
Tin CMSN3 was at $17,450 a tonne from $17,600 and nickel
CMNI3 was at $19,200 a tonne from $19,075.
"This is a market that from a macro perspective is not
looking very robust," said Deutsche Bank analyst Dan Brebner.
"The conditions in Europe continue to look highly risky," he
said. "There are questions with respect to the U.S. possibly
slipping into another recession. Risk aversion is likely to be
elevated."
But he said there was some buying interest out of Asia,
China specifically, that was creating some support in the
market.
(Additional reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Sue Thomas)