Shanghai Futures Exchange copper slid 1.2 percent to 36,170 yuan ($5,416) on Monday while ShFe zinc and lead fell more than 2 percent and nickel more than 3 percent. ShFE tin fell 3.9 pct after China's stocks more than doubled in the latest week.
Jitters on Wall Street spilled across markets on Monday after investors were rattled by rising bond yields and talk the Federal Reserve might be serious about lifting US interest rates as early as next week.
"It started in the States on Friday with weak closes all round and the negative tone has continued today," a broker in Hong Kong said. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased 0.7 percent to $4,601 a tonne by 0709 GMT, following 0.7-percent losses in the previous session. Prices earlier fell to $4,582 a tonne, the weakest since June 20. Higher interest rates raise financing costs in the cash intensive metals industry and are likely to dampen activity and prices.
Adding to jitters, China's central bank chief economist said the country should take steps to curb the flow of capital into the property market and state-owned companies to help slow the rise of debt levels in the economy. Emerging Chinese copper demand after a summer factory lull and buying by traders buoyed by cheap premiums and weak global prices looks set to fuel a recovery in China's copper imports this month after a plunge to 12-month lows in August.
But traders and analysts said that may not be enough to offset the impact of an expected flood of new supply this year.
Hedge funds and money managers sharply boosted their net short position in copper futures and options in the week to September 6, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.
Comments
Comments are closed.