COPPER prices ended with modest losses, as worries that Chinese imports could slow and supplies could pile up in LME warehouses outweighed positive US economic data.
Aluminium rose to a four-week high, buoyed by signs of improving demand, while nickel, zinc and tin edged higher and lead finished slightly down.
Steve Platt, futures analyst with Archer Financial Services in Chicago, said the copper market remained concerned about the housing sector despite data showing new construction of US homes and future building permits up at nine-month highs in August.
“I don’t think anyone is really expecting a big recovery in the housing sector until we can get through some of these foreclosures next year,” he said. “That seems to be weighing on values and kind of containing the market on the upside.”
KEY COMMODITY PRICES: oil, gold, base metals, livestock and wheat
Copper for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX division ended down US4.05 cents at $US2.8960 a pound, after dealing in a session range from $US2.8870 to $US2.9550…read more at The Australian
