Copper fell on Wednesday as weaker than expected US data signalled economic conditions remained tough and rekindled concerns about the outlook for metals demand. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was last quoted at $4,915 a tonne from $5,050 on Tuesday, when the metal hit a 7-1/2 month high of $5,145.
Falls in stock markets and a rising dollar weighed on copper as a stronger dollar makes metals priced in the US currency more expensive for holders of other currencies. Also, worse-than expected business activity and factory orders data out of the US dampened prices as investors grew cautious ahead of the seasonally slow summer months.
"There's a general feeling that the market has got ahead of itself," said Alex Heath, head of base metals trading at RBC Capital Markets. He added a "glass half full mentality" had set in, where people have gone from expecting weak figures to reacting negatively when positive data comes out worse than expected.
Prices of copper, used in power and construction, have gained about 2.5 percent so far this week, as investors welcomed a recent spate of above consensus economic data. But analysts warned copper's recent strength masks poor fundamentals. Markets are entering a seasonally quiet period at a time when Chinese restocking - which has helped lift copper by about 60 percent year-to-date - appears to be subsiding.
"We are in a recession still, OK it's not getting worse but ... I can't say copper demand is up, it's all investors not wanting to miss the boat," said Calyon analyst Robin Bhar. All the same, copper stocks continue to decline, putting a floor under potential price falls.
Latest data showed stocks of copper at LME warehouses down 2,700 tonnes to 306,525 tonnes. Stocks have been falling consistently since late February, when they stood at just over half a million tonnes. In other metals, aluminium closed at $1,482 a tonne from $1,472, having earlier hit $1,493.25, its highest since May 21. Stocks of aluminium fell 1,125 tonnes but were still above 4.2 million tonnes, having hit record highs consistently since April 20.
The outlook for the oversupplied aluminium market remains dire, ahead of a potential series of production restarts in China and as economic turmoil continues to punish the auto sector. "Aluminium is still a market in substantial surplus," said analyst Adam Rowley at Macquarie Bank. "We are getting to a position where stocks are getting so high that they could take years to wear off, even with demand recovering."
But in a positive sign cancelled warrants - metal tagged for delivery - rose to 78,200 tonnes from 56,875 tonnes on May 1. In addition, positive sentiment was reinforced by news that German independent aluminium producer Trimet Aluminium said it was slightly raising aluminium output because of a recovery in demand.
Elsewhere, zinc ended at $1,535 a tonne from $1,580, battery material lead closed at $1,615 versus $1,659, down from a near 8 month high of $1,677.50 touched earlier. Tin finished flat $14,500. Cancelled warrants stood at 1,465 tonnes - about 10 percent of total stocks - up from 320 tonnes last week.
Pointing to worries about tin supplies is the high premium of about $265 a tonne for cash material over the three-month contract. Nickel was last bid at $14,200 from $14,620 on Tuesday. Earlier it hit $14,800, its highest since early October.
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