[IMG] [IMG] [IMG] Copper Falls on China Concern; Goldman Sees...

Copper Falls on China Concern; Goldman Sees Higher Supply

By Joe Deaux Oct 21, 2014 3:55 AM GMT+1000

Copper futures fell for the third time in four sessions on mounting concern that a slowing economy will curb demand in China, the world’s top metal consumer. In the third quarter, the Chinese economy probably expanded at the weakest pace since 2009, the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey showed before official figures due tomorrow. Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange will rise over the next six months while supplies increase, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a report on Oct. 17.

“The attention is going to shift to China,” Tim Evans, the chief market strategist at Long Leaf Trading Group Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “If we continue to see poor data there, where does the growth come from? That conversation will continue to dominate the copper market moving forward.”

On the Comex in New York, copper futures for December delivery dropped 0.5 percent to settle at $2.988 a pound at 1:12 p.m. Trading was 35 percent below the average in the past 100 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. On Oct. 17, the metal touched $2.9515, the lowest for a most-active contract since March 25.
On the LME, copper for delivery in three months fell 1.2 percent to $6,560 a metric ton ($2.98 a pound). The price has dropped 11 percent this year. Zinc, lead and nickel declined in London, while tin advanced. Aluminum was unchanged.
Nickel has a “positive” outlook after prices plunged 13 percent in September, Andreas Hommert, the head of research and a partner at Citrine Capital Management LLC, said in an interview yesterday in London, where he was attending the start of LME Week.

David Wilson, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., said at the LME’s seminar today that the outlook for aluminum demand is the best among the industrial metals.Leon Westgate, an analyst at Standard Bank, said lead has the most upside through 2017. An LME survey at the seminar today showed that zinc is favored among metals for next year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-20/copper-drops-before-china-s-gdp-data-aluminum-advances.html