Copper Prices Hit New Lows Ahead of Chinese Manufacturing Data

The price of copper has been falling steadily for a week. From a high of 3.167 last Tuesday, the price reached a low of 3.033 on Monday before recovering slightly to trade around 3.045.

The price has been falling as anticipation grew over deterioration in Chinese manufacturing figures which are due to be released this week. China is the world’s largest consumer of copper and accounts for around 40% of demand. If the country’s manufacturing figures are down then it will seriously affect the price of copper.

In addition to the situation in China, a strong dollar also leads to a drop in the price of metals as it makes dollar based assets unattractive to investors that hold other currencies. Gold, silver and copper prices have suffered in recent weeks and the price is likely to be kept down as long as the dollar remains high.