Shanghai Copper Down 1% as Econ Worries Linger

SHANGHAI, July 8 -- Shanghai copper fell more than one percent on Wednesday, as worries over a recovery of the global economy persisted amid talk of a second U.S. government stimulus plan, but the downward movement was limited.

    Talk of a second U.S. stimulus plan stoked concerns about the economic recovery, sending oil prices and global stocks down on Tuesday, before leaders of the Group of Eight major industrial nations are due to meet to discuss the crisis on Wednesday.

    "The absence of any positive economic data has certainly taken the wind out of the market," said Mark Pervan, senior analyst at ANZ.

    Stronger-than-expected German manufacturing data had managed to impress the market for a short while in the previous session.

    Shanghai's benchmark third-month copper futures contract fell 1.4 percent to 38,690 yuan a tonne by 0224 GMT, after touching a session-low of 38,450 yuan, a two-week low.

    The most active contract for October delivery fell 1.6 percent to 38,490 yuan a tonne.

    "Although Shanghai copper is still falling, the decline is limited -- there are buyers waiting for prices to go down, and they'll jump in to buy," said Li Rong, an analyst with Great Wall Futures.

    "We are concerned whether speculative money would be tightened. We expect the liquidity in the market to gradually ebb, but it will be a slow process."

    Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange shed $30 to $4,850 a tonne, extending losses from the previous session.

    Copper inventories in warehouses registered with the LME fell 3,250 tonnes to 265,925 tonnes on Tuesday.

    But copper stocks in Shanghai's bonded warehouses grew by 50,000 to 80,000 tonnes in the past two weeks, as the flow of record imports stalled on lukewarm domestic demand.

    Uncertainty whether the global economy is on the recovery path helped oil prices fall more than 10 percent this month, to around $62 a barrel, pressuring commodities prices, analysts said.

    But some noticed that spot copper prices are supported, at least in part of China.

    "Spot prices are bullish, partly because imports of scrap copper were low, due to high prices," said Lin Yuhui, deputy general manager of Jinhui Futures Co., based in the southern province of Guangdong.

    Shanghai aluminium edged down 0.3 percent to 13,445 yuan a tonne, up 10 yuan, compared to a 5 percent decline in Shanghai copper.

    LME aluminium shed $13 to $1,605 a tonne, down 1.5 percent this month so far.

    "Aluminium and zinc are likely not going to tumble, because the prices now are already low, while copper has risen quite a bit, and there's more bubble to squeeze," said Lin of Jinrui Futures.

    (Source: Reuters)