Copper futures fall 3.1% on concerns about China demand
Source: www.chinamining.org Citation: Global Times Date: June 08, 2015
Shanghai copper futures fell Friday primarily due to investor concerns about lackluster demand in China, the world`s largest consumer of the metal.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), for August delivery, finished at 42,810 yuan ($6,901) per ton Friday, down 680 yuan from Thursday. The August contract shed 3.1 percent for the week.
A total of 328,872 lots changed hands Friday, 88,380 more than on the previous trading day.
The benchmark three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange closed at $5,939 a ton Friday, compared with $5,920 a ton Thursday.
Metal markets were showing signs of weakness.
A pickup in the US dollar and renewed concerns over demand in China weighed on metal markets, according to a research note sent to the Global Time Friday from the ANZ Banking Group.
"Copper led the falls, with some heavy selling on the close after it breached some technical levels," the note said. "This was despite further positive economic news in Europe and the US. Investors are now looking for additional stimulus measures in China before getting bullish about metals consumption and thus prices."
Seasonal demand for copper in China is passing its peak as more factories in China are looking to ramp down production for the summer, Reuters reported Thursday. "For copper, like iron ore, expectations are that demand will slow through summer. We don`t see a major uplift from current levels," analyst Lachlan Shaw of UBS in Melbourne told Reuters.
However, some investors expect recovery in housing sales in China will help boost copper consumption later this year.
"We would anticipate that commodities exposed to house fit-out should do better, such as copper, in areas like wiring," Shaw said.
China`s housing market is a major source of copper demand. But investors remain concerned about the poor short-term outlook for copper consumption.
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