yolowire.com - Copper’s price has fallen to its lowest level in two months as demand for the industrial metal weakens in the key market of China.
Soft economic data out of China, copper’s biggest market, has exerted downward pressure on copper’s price, causing it to fall 0.9% to $9,655 U.S. per ton on the London Metal Exchange.
That is the lowest price for Copper in eight weeks and comes after a blistering rally that had sent the metal’s price to an all-time high.
The slump in copper’s price comes on news that industrial output in China has slowed as the housing and construction slump in the nation of 1.4 billion people worsens.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has introduced measures to steady growth and stabilize the property sector.
But the latest industrial data has renewed calls for more powerful government stimulus. Declines in real estate investment and home prices across China worsened in May, data shows.
Copper’s price had reached a record high above $11,000 U.S. per ton in May of this year but has rapidly cooled due to worries about rising global inventory levels and weakness in China.
Metal prices worldwide also came under pressure last week as the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its outlook for interest rate cuts this year.
The price of iron ore has fallen 2.3% in the last week while aluminum prices have dropped to their lowest level since mid-April.