Investing.com - Copper futures were down for a fourth day on Tuesday, hovering close to the previous session’s 14-month low as ongoing fears over a potential Greek default and a margin hike from the CME Group pressured prices.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.100 a pound during European morning trade, dropping 1.6%.
It earlier fell by as much as 2.1% to trade at USD3.037 a pound, hovering close to Monday’s 14-month low of USD2.998 a pound.
Market sentiment remained downbeat after euro zone finance ministers postponed a decision on the release of Greece’s next EUR8 billion tranche of aid until a meeting on October 17.
According to reports, Greece needs the latest round of aid to avoid running out of money by mid-October, fuelling fears over an imminent default.
The news prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and commodities and flock to traditional safe haven assets like the U.S. dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% to trade at 80.22, hovering close to a nine-month high.
Copper prices came under additional pressure after the CME Group, operator of the Comex raised the amount of cash that traders must deposit for speculative positions by 15% to USD7,763 per contract from USD6,750, it announced late Monday.
The CME increased the so-called initial margin by 13% to USD5,750 per contract from USD5,000, pushing small investors out of the market as it raises the cost to trade a futures contract.
Meanwhile, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs cut its 2012 copper price forecast by nearly 15% to USD3.00 a pound, citing increased chances for a global economic recession.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery rose 0.68% to trade at USD1,669.05 a troy ounce, while silver for December delivery eased up 0.05% to trade at USD30.81 a troy ounce.
Commodity traders will pay close attention to a meeting of finance ministers from the single currency bloc later in the day to discuss the implementation of a permanent euro zone bailout facility.
In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is to testify on the U.S. economic outlook and recent monetary policy actions before the Joint Economic Committee in Washington.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.100 a pound during European morning trade, dropping 1.6%.
It earlier fell by as much as 2.1% to trade at USD3.037 a pound, hovering close to Monday’s 14-month low of USD2.998 a pound.
Market sentiment remained downbeat after euro zone finance ministers postponed a decision on the release of Greece’s next EUR8 billion tranche of aid until a meeting on October 17.
According to reports, Greece needs the latest round of aid to avoid running out of money by mid-October, fuelling fears over an imminent default.
The news prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and commodities and flock to traditional safe haven assets like the U.S. dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% to trade at 80.22, hovering close to a nine-month high.
Copper prices came under additional pressure after the CME Group, operator of the Comex raised the amount of cash that traders must deposit for speculative positions by 15% to USD7,763 per contract from USD6,750, it announced late Monday.
The CME increased the so-called initial margin by 13% to USD5,750 per contract from USD5,000, pushing small investors out of the market as it raises the cost to trade a futures contract.
Meanwhile, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs cut its 2012 copper price forecast by nearly 15% to USD3.00 a pound, citing increased chances for a global economic recession.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery rose 0.68% to trade at USD1,669.05 a troy ounce, while silver for December delivery eased up 0.05% to trade at USD30.81 a troy ounce.
Commodity traders will pay close attention to a meeting of finance ministers from the single currency bloc later in the day to discuss the implementation of a permanent euro zone bailout facility.
In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is to testify on the U.S. economic outlook and recent monetary policy actions before the Joint Economic Committee in Washington.