Copper Still Weighed Down by China PMI

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost $21.14 or 0.3 percent on Monday to reach $7,045.50 per tonne, according to Bloomberg. The copper market is still feeling the effects from disappointing data on Chinese demand. The Purchasing Managers’ Index from China’s statistics bureau and logistics federation, released February 1, declined to 50.5 from December’s level of 51. A score of 50 on the index divides growth from contraction.

“Chinese PMIs in the past week show the economy might be slowing down,” Richard Fu, director for Asian commodity trading at Newedge Group SA in London, wrote in a note, according to Reuters.

Copper for March delivery on New York’s Comex exchange was down $0.002, or 0.1 percent, at $3.195 per pound, according to The Wall Street Journal.