Copper prices have retreated from a record during May 2024 on concerns about the strength of demand in China, where growth was the slowest in five quarters during the three months to June. The outcome of the Third Plenum, a key conclave of Communist Party officials in Beijing this week, has so far showed few signs of major steps to boost demand or arrest a long-running property slump.
“A lack of major policy shift in China weighed on sentiment,” ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. analysts including Daniel Hynes said in a note. “That left investors disappointed that there wasn’t greater focus on tackling structural issues in the economy, such as the beleaguered property sector.”
Copper headed for its biggest weekly loss since 2022 and iron ore extended a slump toward $100 a ton as a policy meeting in China failed to lay out more stimulus to shore up metals demand.
Futures for copper have fallen by about 5% in London this week amid a broad retreat that’s also battered aluminum, tin and nickel. The complex was also dragged lower on Friday by a shift away from risk assets and a stronger US dollar.
“You’ve had a liquidation of some of the bullish positions people had on and at the margin you’re seeing shorts coming in as well,” said Bank of America head of metals research Michael Widmer.
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