sempra metals

I offer no opinion. It was just that former shareholder Sempra Metals were mentioned


LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Concern about the fallout from
credit losses and economic growth hit industrial metals prices
on Wednesday, sending copper down 4 percent to an 8-month low. Zinc tumbled more than 6 percent and lead shed 4.4 percent
while mining stocks in London such as BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and
Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 4-5 percent in line with broader weakness
in European shares. Copper for three-months delivery (MCU3: Quote, Profile, Research) on the London Metal
Exchange fell to $6,475 per tonne, its lowest since March 16,
and closed at $6,520, down $270 or 4 percent from Tuesday. "People are scared of the state of the United States
economy," analyst Marc Elliott at Fairfax said. Concerns about further possible write-downs by banks, and
the possible impact of the credit crisis on global economy
haunted investors and boosted risk aversion across financial
markets. "The markets are so nervous -- from equities to metals,"
another LME floor trader said. Credit defaults, starting in the U.S. subprime mortgage
sector, have cost banks and other financial institutions tens of
billions of dollars in writedowns since August and knocked the
U.S. housing market on its back, hurting metal demand from the
sector. "Any slowdown in the U.S. economy is negative for the price
of base metals," said Chris Brodie, manager of Krom River
Partners' commodity hedge fund. The dollar fell to another record low against the euro at
$1.4856 after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its 2008 growth
outlook. The Fed said U.S. economic growth will slow in
2008 to between 1.8 and 2.5 percent, down sharply from the 2.5 to
2.75 percent forecast in June, before picking up in 2009.
WEIGHT OF MONEY "The weight of money is on the downside and copper could
head down towards $6,400 a tonne," economist John Kemp at Sempra
Metals said. "The trend at the moment is down." Just after the official second ring union workers at Chile's
Cerro Colorado said they had stopped working and were blocking
access to the mine but there was no impact on prices. The mine,
owned by BHP Billiton, produces about 115,000 tonnes a year. "Overall sentiment across the base metals, with the
exception of aluminium, remains bearish," analyst William Adams
at BaseMetals.com said in a report. For lead, the possibility of shipments from Magellan
restarting early next year, and for zinc the fear of a rush of
exports from China ahead of export tax changes, weighed on
prices, Adams said. Lead (MPB3: Quote, Profile, Research) was down 4.4 percent or $135 at $2,915 and zinc
fell $150 or 6.3 percent to $2,220. "Lead should start to find support here, but the zinc market
could really go, if selling in the Far East is continuing, to
test $2,000," a European trader said. A higher oil price, which hit a record high of $99.29 a
barrel, was seen supporting aluminium due to its high energy
consuming properties during production. Aluminium shed $23 to $2,521. "Aluminium is following the oil price, but I am bearish
short-term, if it falls below $2,485 it could easily drop
towards $2,400," another LME floor dealer said. Nickel fell $700 to $29,600 and tin was down $405 to
$16,000.