Copper fell to a near one-week low on Wednesday, pressured by a bleak demand outlook reflected in data that showed US and euro zone factory activity stumbled in July and Chinese manufacturing dropped to an eight-month low. In New York, the COMEX September contract shed 4.25 cents to settle at $3.3750 per lb, after dealing between $3.3605 and $3.4265.
"The data surprised on the downside for China, which isn't positive for metals," said Gayle Berry, an analyst at Barclays Capital. "But while the market is disappointed with some of the economic data, you're probably not going to see a big sell-off, because there is anticipation demand is going to improve due to the Chinese government signalling that it is taking a pro-growth stance."