Copper Drops to Lowest Price Since December as Imports Into China Tumble

Copper fell to the lowest price since December in London as imports of the metal into China, the world’s biggest consumer, slid to a two-year low.

Inbound shipments of copper and products tumbled 35 percent to 235,469 metric tons in February from the prior month as ample supplies weighed down local prices, according to the General Administration of Customs website. Prices also declined as the MSCI World Index of shares retreated for a second day.

“There is a lot of suggestion that demand is a bit soft at the moment, from both China and other countries,” said Dan Smith, an analyst at Standard Chartered Plc in London. “Simmering tensions in the Middle East” and weaker equity markets were also “weighing on risk appetite at this point,” he said.

Copper for three-month delivery dropped $90, or 1 percent, to $9,185 a ton at 11:45 a.m. on theLondon Metal Exchange. Prices reached $9,135, the lowest level since Dec. 20. Copper for May delivery decreased 1 percent to $4.1705 a pound on the Comex in New York. All of the six main metals traded on the LME declined except tin.

The MSCI index slid as much as 0.8 percent, and futures indicated that U.S. equity benchmarks will drop when trading begins in New York.

Chinese Demand

Copper demand in China will exceed supply by 2.44 million tons this year, more than in 2010, the nation’s Ministry of Commerce said. Imports of refined metal probably will remain at a “relatively high level” in 2011, the ministry’s Foreign Trade Department said in a report dated March 7.

Copper inventories in LME warehouses fell for a third day, slipping 250 tons to 425,475 tons. Orders to draw metal from stockpiles, or canceled warrants, dropped 625 tons to 14,850 tons, according to daily exchange data.

Lead for three-month delivery on the LME fell 2.8 percent to $2,411 a ton and zinc declined 0.4 percent to $2,265 a ton. Aluminum decreased 0.2 percent to $2,574 a ton, nickel dropped 0.7 percent to $25,973 a ton and tin rose 0.6 percent to $29,700 a ton.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-10/copper-drops-to-lowest-price-since-december-as-imports-into-china-tumble.html)