Investing.com - Copper futures were down sharply for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, trading at a two-week low after the Federal Reserve refrained from signaling another round of quantitative easing, while concerns over a ‘hard landing’ in China also weighed.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery traded at USD3.401 a pound during European morning trade, tumbling 1.15%.
It earlier fell by as much as 1.35% to trade at USD3.381 a pound, the lowest since November 30.
At its latest monetary policy meeting, the Fed said that the U.S. economy “has been expanding moderately,” despite slowing in global growth.
The Fed also reiterated a warning from its two previous meetings that “strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.”
The central bank made no changes to interest rates or its bond-purchase program, disappointing investors that were hoping for indications of a fresh round of asset purchases.
Copper prices came under further pressure after a Chinese leading indicator fell for the first time in ten months in October, fuelling concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
In a report, the Conference Board said that its leading index for China declined by 0.1% in October after rising 0.4% in September.
“The risk of a more substantive slowdown in China’s economic growth than anticipated so far is rising,” Andrew Polk, an economist at The Conference Board, said in the statement.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year, while India is forecast to become the second largest consumer by 2020.
A broadly stronger U.S. dollar also added to selling pressure, as it makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, traded at 80.90, hovering below Tuesday’s 11-month high of 81.11.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for February delivery tumbled 1.45% to trade at USD1,639.05 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery sank 1.55% to trade at USD30.77 a troy ounce.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery traded at USD3.401 a pound during European morning trade, tumbling 1.15%.
It earlier fell by as much as 1.35% to trade at USD3.381 a pound, the lowest since November 30.
At its latest monetary policy meeting, the Fed said that the U.S. economy “has been expanding moderately,” despite slowing in global growth.
The Fed also reiterated a warning from its two previous meetings that “strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.”
The central bank made no changes to interest rates or its bond-purchase program, disappointing investors that were hoping for indications of a fresh round of asset purchases.
Copper prices came under further pressure after a Chinese leading indicator fell for the first time in ten months in October, fuelling concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
In a report, the Conference Board said that its leading index for China declined by 0.1% in October after rising 0.4% in September.
“The risk of a more substantive slowdown in China’s economic growth than anticipated so far is rising,” Andrew Polk, an economist at The Conference Board, said in the statement.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year, while India is forecast to become the second largest consumer by 2020.
A broadly stronger U.S. dollar also added to selling pressure, as it makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, traded at 80.90, hovering below Tuesday’s 11-month high of 81.11.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for February delivery tumbled 1.45% to trade at USD1,639.05 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery sank 1.55% to trade at USD30.77 a troy ounce.