BASE METAL MARKETS > Shanghai copper falls 1 pct, LME extends losses

SINGAPORE - Shanghai copper prices dropped to their lowest since December on Thursday and London futures fell 0.4 percent, weighed by a pessimistic demand outlook, despite an unprecedented safe-haven surge in gold.

London Metal Exchange copper fell $30, to $6,730 by 0320 GMT, extending Wednesday’s 1.6 percent slide. Most active Shanghai December copper reversed early gains, falling 2 percent to 52,300 yuan ($7,649), its weakest since December.

- - - - > Copper nears eight-month low on financial turmoil

LONDON - Copper dropped towards an eight-month low on Wednesday as demand worries and financial turmoil prompted risk-averse investors to reduce positions, while stock rises dragged aluminium to a 7-1/2-month low.

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6,760 per tonne, having touched $6,725 per tonne close to its eight-month low of $6,720 and compared with $6,870 per tonne at the close on Tuesday.

- - - - > US copper closes down, languishes near 8-month low

NEW YORK - U.S. copper futures ended lower on Wednesday as global economic growth concerns and further turmoil in financials weighed on sentiment and left prices languishing near 8-month lows, dealers said.

* Copper for December delivery settled down 4.65 cents at $3.0425 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX division.

- - - - PRECIOUS METALS MARKETS > Gold in negative territory as buying withers

TOKYO - Gold reversed earlier gains to fall below $860 per ounce on Thursday, down about 0.4 percent from the previous day, as buying ran out of steam.

It had earlier risen by more than 3 percent to $892.10, extending its biggest ever one-day rise in absolute dollar terms on Wednesday, when buyers flocked to the precious metal as a safe haven asset, and as a hedge against falling stocks.

- - - - > Gold futures post historic gain on safe-haven play

NEW YORK - U.S. gold futures ended 9 percent higher in a fierce rally on Wednesday, soaring above $850 an ounce as safe-haven buying amid market turmoil and pent-up jewelry demand sparked gold’s biggest one-day rise in dollar terms since 1980.

* December gold settled up $70.00, or 9 percent, at $850.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

- - - - > Gold soars as banking crisis sparks haven buying * Gold climbs to $836.30/837.30 an ounce at 1642 GMT from $775.55 late in New York on Tuesday.

* Bullion soars, posting biggest one-day gain in absolute terms since 1980, as fears abound over the outlook for the global financial sector.

- - - - BASE METALS NEWS > Jiangxi Copper eyes overseas buys with bond issue

BEIJING - Jiangxi Copper will use about 2.5 billion yuan ($365.7 million) of a convertible bond issue to fund overseas acquisitions that will ensure raw materials for its expanded capacity, the country’s top copper producer said on Thursday.

- - - - > OZ Minerals to cut zinc output, lift copper

SYDNEY - OZ Minerals Ltd plans to cut zinc production at its Golden Grove mine in Australia by 50,000 tonnes in 2009, a drop of about 35-40 percent on its 2008 output forecast, due to falling prices, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

- - - - > S.Korea buys 3,000 tonnes of aluminium ingot

SEOUL - South Korea has bought 3,000 tonnes of primary aluminium ingot, the state-run Public Procurement Service said on Thursday.

- - - - PRECIOUS METALS NEWS > India gold demand to plummet on high price-trade

NEW DELHI - India’s gold demand will fall sharply despite the peak festival season because of a surge in the international price of gold, the president of Bombay Bullion Association told Reuters on Thursday.

- - - - > Chile, Argentina drive for Pascua Lama gold deal

SANTIAGO - Chile and Argentina hope a meeting in October could resolve the prickly tax issues stalling development of Pascua Lama, the massive gold deposit in the Andes mountain range bordering the two countries.

- - - - STEEL NEWS > China steel group warns Vale on ore price demand

BEIJING - China’s steel industry, the world’s largest, will inevitably stop using iron ore from Brazilian miner Vale if it insists on a price rise, an executive at the China Iron and Steel Association said on Thursday.

- - - - > ArcelorMittal to cut steel output to support prices

LONDON - The world’s largest steel maker, ArcelorMittal , said on Wednesday it planned to cut production as much as 15 percent to support prices.

Source: http://www.afxnews.com

Related Content