(Bloomberg) -- Copper fell for a seventh straight session, to the lowest level since early April, on concern that Chinese demand for industrial metals is weakening.
A twice-a-decade conclave of China’s top leadership held last week has so far failed to deliver any meaningful stimulus that might support metals demand. The red metal has retreated almost a fifth from a high in late May, partially due to disappointing growth in Asia’s largest economy.
The copper market has also been dogged by a growing mismatch between supply and demand, with global inventories rising sharply as excess stocks are delivered into exchange warehouses.
Global refined copper production grew 6% in the first five months of the year, while demand rose 3.7%, according to data from the International Copper Study Group released on Monday. That imbalance helped push the market into a surplus of about 496,000 tons over the period, it said.
“There is little doubt the copper cathode market is well-supplied at present, reflected in copper prices dropping to a three-month low,” Colin Hamilton, managing director for commodities research at BMO Capital Markets, said in an emailed note.
Traders are also waiting for the Federal Reserve’s preferred underlying inflation measure, to be released Friday, for clues on the timing of US rate cuts.
Copper dropped as much as 1.2% on the London Metal Exchange and traded 0.7% lower at $9,154.50 a ton as of 4:10 p.m. local time. Most other metals declined, with lead falling as much as 1.6% after a large delivery into LME warehouses in Singapore.
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