Dec. 23 （Bloomberg） -- Copper prices fell as U.S. orders for durable goods and new-home sales in November trailed forecasts by analysts.
Orders for durable goods fell 1.3 percent, topping a 0.5 percent decline forecast by economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Purchases of new homes expanded at a 290,000 annual rate, compared with 300,000 projected in another survey. Yesterday, copper futures reached a record $4.2965 a pound.
The economic data “served as a trigger for year-end profit-taking,” Phil Streible, a senior strategist at Lind- Waldock, a broker in Chicago. “Trading will be quiet until early January.”
Copper futures for March delivery fell 1.65 cents, or 0.4 percent, to settle at $4.2585 at 12:16 p.m. on the Comex in New York. This week, the price climbed 2.4 percent, the fourth straight gain.
The metal has surged 48 percent since July 1, partly on demand from emerging markets including China, the world’s largest user.
Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose for the ninth straight session, signaling easing demand.
“We’re bound to see demand destruction from price- sensitive Chinese buyers, more so because we’re currently in the slow-consumption season,” said Yang Jun, a Beijing-based analyst at Hongyuan Futures Co. “While the longer-term fundamentals are supportive of prices, I do think investors outside of China are being a bit too optimistic about China’s demand.”
The Comex will be closed tomorrow for the Christmas holiday.
On the LME, copper for delivery in three months dropped $50, or 0.5 percent, to $9,300 a metric ton （$4.22 a pound）. On Dec. 21, the price reached a record $9,392.
Nickel, zinc and aluminum also fell in London. Tin and lead rose.
--With assistance from Glenys Sim in Singapore. Editor: Patrick McKiernan, Daniel Enoch
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