Copper Drops on Speculation China's Demand May Slow: LME Preview

Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) --Copper dropped in London on speculation demand in China, the biggest user, may slow as the country's home prices fell for a fourth month and Premier Wen Jiabao said business conditions may be “relatively difficult” this quarter.

Market News:

Metals News:
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Metal Prices:
-- Copper fell $115, or 1.5 percent, to $7,675 a metric ton by
7:44 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Relative Strength
Index 53.
-- Aluminum declined 1 percent to $2,055.75 a ton. RSI 52.
-- Zinc dropped 0.7 percent to $1,865 a ton. RSI 45.
-- Lead fell 1.6 percent to $2,067 a ton. RSI 54.
-- Nickel declined 1.1 percent to $18,695 a ton. RSI 54.
-- Tin dropped 3.5 percent to $19,300 a ton. RSI 46.

Other Markets:
                     Last           % Change       % YTD
U.S. Dollar Index   79.701            0.1           -0.6
Crude oil           $102.55          -0.4            3.8
Gold                $1,604.95         0.1            2.6
MSCI World Index    1,208.96          0.2            2.2


Economic Events:
                                      Forecast  Prior     Time
                                                        (London)
Germany PMI Services           DEC      52.7       52.7    8:55
EC PMI Services                DEC      48.3       48.3    9:00
Euro-zone CPI Estimate         DEC      2.8%       3.0%   10:00
U.S. MBA Mortgage Applications DEC 30   --         --     12:00
U.S. Factory Orders            NOV      2.0%      -0.4%   15:00
U.S. Total Vehicle Sales       DEC      13.5M     13.59M  22:00