Copper Closes Lower on Downbeat Economic Figures
December 14 2018 - 5:17PM
Dow Jones News
By David Hodari and Amrith Ramkumar
Copper fell alongside stocks and other risk assets Friday as
weak economic data in China and Europe added to downbeat sentiment
about global growth.
Copper for March delivery, the most active futures contract,
closed down 0.2% at $2.7625 a pound on the Comex division of the
New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down about 16% from their
June four-year highs on fears that slower global economic growth
will crimp demand for materials used heavily in construction and
manufacturing.
Data released Friday showed a larger-than-expected deepening in
China's economic downturn last month. Slipping retail sales and
industrial-production figures piled further pressure on Beijing to
halt a slowdown in 2019 while dealing with its continuing trade
conflict with the U.S.
"Without the front loading of exports, this was seen as a better
illustration of the poor state of the Chinese economy," said
Alastair Munro, a broker at Marex Spectron, in a note.
China accounts for about half of global metals demand, and
concerns about trade tensions and a weakening economy have pummeled
materials of late.
Adding to the downbeat tone Friday, purchasing managers' surveys
separately showed that French business activity unexpectedly
contracted for the first time in 2 1/2 years, according to IHS
Markit, while Germany's composite purchasing managers index reached
its lowest level in four years.
The tepid figures pushed investors toward the dollar, also
making commodities more expensive for overseas buyers. The WSJ
Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of 16 other
currencies, rose 0.3%.
Elsewhere in base metals, aluminum for delivery in three months
fell 0.3% to $1,926 a metric ton. Zinc dropped 0.9% to $2,543, tin
edged down 0.4% to $19,330, nickel rose 2.1% to $11,080 and lead
closed down less than 0.1% at $1,948.50.
Among precious metals, Comex gold for February delivery dropped
0.5% to $1,241.40 a troy ounce, hurt by the dollar's strength.
Most-active silver futures fell 1.5% to $14.637, platinum shed 1.5%
to $785.30 and palladium slumped 1.6% to $1,171.60.
Write to David Hodari at David.Hodari@dowjones.com and Amrith
Ramkumar at amrith.ramkumar@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2018 17:02 ET (22:02 GMT)
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