Copper Falls to $5,534 per Tonne on China Data

Copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.8 percent to $5,534 per tonne today, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Data from China showed industrial profits grew at a record slow pace – 3.3 percent in 2014, the weakest in any records going back to 2000, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing.

“There is absolutely no doubt there has been a demand vacuum in China,” Colin Hamilton, head of commodities research at Macquarie Group Ltd., said at a news briefing in London. “Also European demand looks to be extremely weak.”

Copper futures for March delivery on New York’s Comex fell 1.4 percent to $2.508 per pound, near a low not seen since 2009.