Copper dropped in London, heading for a third straight weekly decline, after industrial output unexpectedly fell in the countries sharing the euro, signaling reduced demand for the metal used in homes and cars.
Industrial production in the euro zone fell 0.1 percent in October, Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg, said today. A 0.4 percent gain was the median expectation of 32 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
``The figures were a disappointment for the copper market,'' said Michael Widmer, London-based director of metals research at Calyon, one of 11 companies that trade on the floor of the London Metal Exchange. ``The euro-zone growth was seen as supporting the market.''
Copper for delivery in three months fell $40, or 0.6 percent, to $6,730 a metric ton at 11:02 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices are down 2.2 percent this week.
Other metals on the LME dropped. Aluminum fell $22 to $2,842 a ton, nickel slipped $125 to $34,625 and zinc slipped $30 to $4,320. Lead was unchanged at $1,665 and tin was unchanged at $11,050.
豫公网安备41010502003434号