BLBG:Copper Declines for Second Day as China Grows at Slowest Pace in Two Years
Copper slumped for a second day as China’s economy grew at the slowest pace in two years and Germany doused expectations of a breakthrough in Europe’s debt crisis at this weekend’s summit. All base metals declined.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange plunged as much as 2.2 percent to $7,331 a metric ton and traded at $7,362.75 a ton at 11:43 a.m. in Shanghai. December futures lost 1.5 percent to $3.3260 a pound on the Comex in New York.
China, the biggest consumer of the metal, grew 9.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace since 2009, on higher borrowing costs and weaker exports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office knocked down yesterday what it called “dreams” that an Oct. 23 summit will resolve the crisis.
“Looking ahead, how Europe’s debt crisis will evolve will decide copper-price direction,” said Xiao Wei, an analyst at Industrial Futures Co.
China’s economy grew at less than the median estimate of 9.3 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 22 economists and follows a 9.5 percent gain in the previous three months.
“I think it was Goldilocks data - not too hot, not too cold. Can’t see the People’s Bank of China changing monetary policy on the basis of this data,” said David Thurtell, head of metals research at Citigroup Inc. in Singapore.
The December-delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 2.5 percent to 54,490 yuan ($8,542) a ton.
Aluminum fell 1.2 percent to $2,190.25 a ton, zinc declined 2.5 percent to $1,856.75 a ton and lead lost 2.2 percent to $1,942 a ton. Nickel retreated 1.5 percent to $18,700 a ton, while tin dropped 1.4 percent to $21,200 a ton.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net
