Futures Market News
Copper futures slide amid questions about China
Mar 14, 2012 01:44 PM
Copper futures lost 1 percent of their value on Wednesday, pulled down by nebulous circumstances surrounding the globe's top demanding nation for the reddish metal, according to Reuters.
A day after notching its top value in one week of trading sessions, the industrial metal also lost value as the U.S. dollar gained strength following the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday. But questions about China's slow recovery and the 40 percent of global copper consumption by the Asian nation weighed heavily on market sentiment.
"The key event this week is people scaling down expectations of quantitative easing. Bernanke's speech yesterday made it less likely. The U.S. economy has been steadily recovering so they don't need it now," analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov with VTB told Reuters. "Copper inventories are dwindling, cancel led warrants are amazingly resilient and premiums are up in Europe, but you still need that fundamental Asian push which we have not seen yet."
At 2:51 p.m. on Wednesday, copper futures slipped 1.67 percent, a 6.5 cent slide to $3.8375 per pound.
Dow Jones Newswires reports the strong Chinese real-estate market is a key source of demand for the industrial metal, which is used for myriad uses including electrical wiring and plumbing.
Don’t Miss Our News Updates!
Share dt News:
Follow our breaking news stories and get a unique take on current events that may impact the commodity futures markets. Multiple new articles are posted each weekday. Subscribe to our commodity news updates by email, and receive real-time updates with our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter @DanielsTrading, become a fan on Facebook to stay informed.
SPECIAL OFFER: Insider Market Advisory FREE Trial
Information is power. Gain an edge with daily commodity futures market updates!
With your free trial membership, you’ll receive full access to trade analysis and recommendations for various markets, daily fundamental and technical market overviews, future price outlooks, and more!
Special Offer
Register for Your Free 2-Week Trial of the dt Insider Market Advisory!
With your free trial membership, you'll receive full access to our exclusive trade recommendation service and all of the timely and accurate trade information you need to feel comfortable participating in the markets.
