Sept. 15 （Bloomberg） -- Copper dropped for the first time in three days on renewed concern that China may curb the property market and as the dollar strengthened. Zinc, lead and nickel declined.
The three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.9 percent to $7,587.50 a metric ton and traded at $7,591 at 10:31 a.m. in Singapore. Copper for December delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 0.2 percent as Chinese stocks dropped for the first time in four days after the People’s Daily cited an official saying property developers are facing increasing cash-flow pressure.
“It’s unclear if the government will take further steps to cool the property market and this has hurt sentiment,” said Peng Guoliang, an analyst at Zhejiang Dadi Futures Co.
More property must be moved into the Chinese market, the People’s Daily reported today, citing Ba Shusong, deputy head of the financial institute of the State Council’s Development Research Center. Sales volumes can rebound only after a significant decline in property prices, Ba said.
The dollar rose for the first time in three days against a six-currency basket including the yen, after Japan intervened in the foreign-exchange market for the first time since 2004.
“Metals will probably have a downside bias in the short term as traders are unwilling to put on new positions ahead of the holidays, so any rallies will be short-lived as there is little follow-through buying,” said Peng. China’s markets are closed Sept. 22-24 for the Mid-Autumn festival holiday, and again on Oct. 1-7 for the National Day holiday.
Aluminum in London fell 0.9 percent to $2,142 a ton, zinc declined 1.5 percent to $2,142 a ton and lead dropped 1 percent to $2,220.75 a ton. Nickel decreased 1 percent to $23,115 a ton, while tin hadn’t traded by 10:33 a.m. in Singapore.
--Editors: Jarrett Banks, Matthew Oakley
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