Copper stays extremely weak post global data

Prices incur huge monthly and weekly losses

Copper prices at Comex ended substantially lower on Friday, 30 September 2011. A strong dollar and mixed economic data globally and on the home front pushed prices lower lower. Copper has been having a weak run this year and with Friday's losses, prices ended at July 2010 low levels. Copper also had its worst monthly performances since the October 2008.



Copper for December delivery ended lower by 9 cents (2.9%) at $3.15 a pound at Comex on Friday. On the month, copper lost 24%. Quarterly losses were even larger and stood at 26%.

Red metal prices for three-month-delivery at LME fell $250 (3.5%) to $6,910 a metric ton on Friday.

US stocks remained mired in the red on Friday. Since the expansion of the EFSF is generally being regarded as a given, many traders turned their attention to data from Europe and Asia. China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI contracted for the third consecutive month, although the official PMI won't be released until the weekend. A 3.0% spike in Eurozone CPI dampened expectations for a rate cut by the European Central Bank. This hammered red metal prices and other industrial metals on demand concerns.

Domestic data featured bland personal income and spending numbers for August, but both the Chicago PMI and final September reading on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan proved better than expected. Inclined to sell, participants essentially shrugged off those reports.

In the currency market on Friday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, ended higher by 0.5%.

Among other traded metals at LME on Friday, lead in London fell 2% to $1,995 a ton and nickel fell 1.9% to $17,950 a ton. Aluminum closed 3.3% lower at $2,168 a ton, and zinc closed lower by 2.6% at $1,875 a ton.