LONDON, July 15 (Reuters): Copper prices plumbed fresh lows on Friday after worse-than-expected economic data in top metals consumer China deepened fears about lacklustre metals demand.
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange, which were heading for the worst weekly loss since March 2020, were also hit by worries that aggressive rate hikes may trigger a global recession.
The three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 slipped below the $7,000 mark for the first time since November 2020, before paring losses to $7,020 a tonne by 1030 GMT, a loss of 2.1%. On a weekly basis, copper dropped 10 per cent.
"There's hardly any positive news these days across many regions of the world and when people get bearish, typically the sell-off is sharper than on the way up. So I think we could grind lower still," said Xiao Fu, head of commodity market strategy at Bank of China International.
Data showed China's economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter, growing at a tepid 0.4% from a year earlier, the worst showing for the world's second-biggest economy since the data series began in 1992.
"There are still concerns about the property market in China and it's unclear how the situation will develop in the coming months. A lack of recovery could sustain the bearish sentiment," Fu added.
The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 closed at its lowest since November 2020 at 53,480 yuan ($7,904.58) a tonne.
Copper breaks below $7,000 mark on weak Chinese data
FE Team | Published: July 15, 2022 20:24:17
Copper breaks below $7,000 mark on weak Chinese data
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