Copper slid on Thursday, heading for its largest loss in two weeks on Thursday after comments from the head of the European Central Bank dashed broader market hopes of a resolution to the region's debt crisis before a key summit.
Copper fell for a third consecutive day, hitting its lowest level in a week, after ECB President Mario Draghi poured some cold water on growing expectations the bank would step up purchases of government bonds following the conclusion of the EU summit, which begins on Friday in Brussels. In New York, the key March COMEX contract dropped 5.60 cents or nearly 1.6 percent to settle at $3.50 per lb, close to the bottom end of its $3.4790 to $3.6045 session range.