China’s Slowdown Weighs Heavy on Copper

Copper kicked off the new week on a downer, with three-month copper touching down at $6,909.25 a per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange today. Last week, the metal gained 2.4 percent – its largest weekly increase since May. The red metal closed last Friday at $6,954 a tonne, Reuters reported.

The drop in copper today comes as the dollar rises and Chinese GDP data is reported. China’s economic growth slid to  7.5 percent during the second quarter of the year – a 0.2 percent dip from the first quarter of the year and in line with expectations, Reuters reported. Analysts said China’s growth rate may continue to decline over the next several years to hit 6 percent.

Copper futures for September delivery on the Comex in New York also declined today $0.022 to $3.133 a pound, according to Investing.com.