|
|
| |
|
|
Copper opens 2016 on soft footing after bleak China manufacturing data-The 17th China(Guangzhou)Int’l Metal &M
etallurgy Exhibition
1/6/2016 Metal &Metallurgy expo |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
Reuters reported that copper hit a two-week low on the first trading day of 2016 after weak Chinese factory data weighed heavily on Shanghai equities and rekindled worries over economic growth in China and beyond. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended down 2.1 percent at $4,606.50 a tonne, having logged losses of 25 percent for last year. It earlier hit $4,591, its lowest level since Dec. 18.
Other metals also fell. Zinc ended down 2.6 percent at $1,568, and nickel closed down 3.5 percent at $8,505. Lead dropped 2.7 percent to end at $1,745.50.
Surveys showed factory activity in the world''s second-largest economy shrank again in December, sparking a 7 percent slide in Chinese shares that triggered a trading halt. Adding to the worries, China''s central bank fixed the yuan at a 4-1/2 year low.
Adding pressure to metals prices, the dollar is expected to post further gains this year thanks to an expected cycle of US rate hikes. A strong dollar makes dollar-priced metals costly for non US investors. It can also reduce mining costs, deterring producers from making output cuts.
-metal&metallurgy-The
17th China(Guangzhou)Int’l Metal &Metallurgy Exhibition
|
|
|
|
|
