BEIJING- Prices of copper slid on Wednesday, amid gloomy demand outlook in top consumer China and expectations of rising supplies, despite support from the weakness in the dollar.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was was down 0.5 percent at $8,432 per metric ton, extending a downtrend from the previous session.
Weak copper consumption in China has been reflected in a widening spot discount in the market and increase in inventories.
Demand from the power sector, the main consumer of copper, is expected to grow slower in the second half of this year, having posted a healthy gain in the second quarter, according to CITIC Futures.
China consumption will grow 3.9 percent this year, while refined copper production in China will rise 8 percent, with new projects coming online, CITIC Futures added.
Higher global prices amid tight overseas inventories have subdued import appetite, pushing down the Yangshan copper import premium to $42 a metric ton on Tuesday, down 21.5 percent from an intra-year high two weeks ago.
However, import volume is seen rising to 310,000 metric tons with more flows from Congo and Russia, analysts at Yinhe Futures said. – Reuters
