London copper extended losses on Friday following a 10 percent slide overnight and headed for their biggest monthly drop since at least 1970 after data showing a contraction in the US economy stoked recession fears.
London Metal Exchange copper has seen unprecedented volatility since the middle of the year, with prices down a huge 36 percent in October, despite an 8.5 percent rise this week. US gross domestic product shrank at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter as the sharpest pullback by consumers since 1980 overwhelmed the benefit from ramped-up government spending, the US.
"Once credit markets unfreeze and people get used to new, lower asset prices, we should see volatility ease, but we will have to wait for Libor to come down, the US election and even the Chinese new year in the first quarter of next year for that to happen."
Shanghai copper futures fell by their 5 percent threshold to 31,400 yuan ($4,592). Copper dropped a record 41 percent in October, more than twice the loss seen in the next weakest month, June 1996. Zinc hit its 6 percent threshold at the open, falling to 8,930 yuan after the rally in London shuddered to a halt.
"Copper is limit up one day, limit down the next and it has managed to stay more less on par with London in the past few days. It will keep tracking the LME as closely as it can, given the limits on trading," a dealer in Hong Kong said.
Adding to worries are slowing exports from China, which are eating into the country's huge demand for commodities - copper consumption growth next year is seen falling to 6 percent, one third the rate in 2007 - and even a major fiscal package by Beijing will likely only slow the decline. Shanghai copper stocks fell 20 percent or 6,265 tonnes to 24,788 tonnes in weekly data released after the exchange closed, above expectations of a 13 percent fall.
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