Copper prices fall for fifth straight day

LONDON, Apr 25 (Reuters): Copper prices fell for a fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, reaching a five-week low as Chinese demand remained weak and inventories in the London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouse system rose.

Benchmark LME copper was down 2.1 per cent at $8,551 a tonne in official ring trading. The metal used in electrical wiring has fallen from a seven-month high of $9,550.50 in January.

Behind the price weakness is a weaker than hoped rebound in demand from top consumer China and a gloomy economic outlook elsewhere.

Visible Chinese copper inventories are drawing down, but Yangshan import premiums have slumped to $23 a tonne from $50 in March, pointing to weak demand.

On-warrant copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses, meanwhile, rose by 7,000 tonnes to 57,025 tonnes, their highest since mid-January.

Copper demand should improve as the year goes on, lifting prices, said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah. "There is more reason to be optimistic than pessimistic," he said.