The copper price fell on Monday, weighed down by persistent worries about the economy in China.
Copper for delivery in March retreated 2.1% on the Comex market in New York, touching $3.79 per pound or $8,338 per tonne.
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.2% to 66,030 yuan ($9,469.65) a tonne.
Covid-19 symptoms are spreading rapidly in China after authorities began dismantling stringent measures against the disease, fuelling fears a wave in infections could heap pressure on its health system and drive businesses to a halt.
“We can see that China is in a really poor state at the moment in terms of its economy. Things are turning up from quite a low level, so it’s a question of whether prices reflect where we are right now,” said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metals Trading.
“We feel that we’re going to go lower in base metals over the next few weeks because of these problems in China.”
Many metals producers decided to retain covid curbs in their factories to minimize infections and their impact on production.
Also hitting sentiment was uncertainty over whether the US Federal Reserve would ease the pace of interest rate hikes this week.
CITIC Futures said in a report that global central banks will likely stick with tight monetary policies, which will slow down global economic growth and subdue copper demand against rising supply in the market.
It forecasts LME copper prices to decline next year to an average of $7,700 a tonne, keeping range-bound between $6,900 and 8,500 a tonne.
(With files from Reuters)
