LONDON, Mar 20 (Reuters): Copper prices retreated further from an 11-month peak on Wednesday, on worries about demand in top metals consumer China while lead slumped after a sharp rise in inventories.
Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.8 per cent at $8,902 a tonne by 1050 GMT after falling by 1.2 per cent in the previous session.
Copper prices spiked to a peak of $9,025.50 a ton on Monday, the highest since April last year, after a rare agreement by China's copper smelters last week to cut output.
But investors are worried about China's troubled and debt-laden property sector, which is usually a key consumer of industrial metals.
"There's not much real demand and they haven't really addressed the property sector yet, so that's weighing on the market," Robert Montefusco at broker Sucden Financial said.
Also dampening the market was a stronger dollar index ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting that investors expect could send hawkish signals about the timing and extent of any future interest rate cuts.
Copper drops on demand worries
FE Team | Published: March 20, 2024 23:46:19
Copper drops on demand worries
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