BLBG:Copper Falls on Concern China’s Economy Is Poised to Slow Down
Copper fell in London on concern the economy is poised to slow in China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, while some production may restart at the second-biggest mine.
China’s economy will expand about 7.75 percent this year and next, according to the International Monetary Fund, below prior estimates. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) may resume open-pit mining tomorrow at the Grasberg mine in Indonesia after a deadly accident on May 14 that halted output. The company still needs approval to restart underground mining.
“Copper eased down so far this morning,” Pengjiang “Richard” Fu, director for Asian commodities trading at Newedge Group SA in London, said by e-mail. “Bearish news” also included higher unemployment in Germany, the third-biggest copper user, he said.
Copper for delivery in three months slid 1 percent to $7,250 a metric ton by 10:27 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices are up 2.8 percent this month. Copper for July delivery fell 0.9 percent to $3.285 a pound on the Comex in New York.
Grasberg may reach a daily production rate of 140,000 tons of ore in three to four days, Rozik B. Soetjipto, president director of PT Freeport Indonesia, said today.
The number of people out of work in Germany climbed a seasonally adjusted 21,000 to 2.96 million, the Federal Labor Agency said today. That was a fourth straight monthly gain.
Lead for delivery in three months fell 0.3 percent to $2,113 a ton on the LME after touching $2,125, the highest price since March 28. The metal used in batteries was “well bid into yesterday’s session” after closing above its 50-day moving average near $2,069 on May 24, George Adcock, an analyst at Marex Spectron Group in London, said by e-mail today.
Lead for immediate delivery was $1.50 a ton below the three-month contract at yesterday’s close, unchanged from the prior session and the smallest discount since prices moved into a so-called contango in December.
Zinc and tin fell in London as aluminum and nickel rose.
“Beyond the macro drivers, the spread and speculative traders remain the most active participants,” Adcock said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
