Copper Tumbles to 7-Month Low as Slowdown Fears Rock Markets

COPPER - LONDON. Copper prices fell below $9,000 a tonne on Thursday for the first time since October and other industrial metals tumbled as traders worried that a slowing global economy would require less metal.

With inflation surging and interest rates rising, growth fears also pushed down oil prices and stock markets hit a 1-1/2-year low. {MKTS/GLOB]

The dollar, meanwhile, reached a new 20-year high against a basket of major rivals, making dollar-priced metals costlier for buyers with other currencies.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 3.6% at $9,000 a tonne in official trading after falling as low as $8,938. Prices are down 17% from a record high of $10,845 reached in March.

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LME tin fell 6.9% to $33,300 a tonne.

"Demand hopes have given way to demand concerns," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.

COVID lockdowns in China, the top metals consumer, the war in Ukraine and aggressive interest rate rises were all hurting the outlook for the economy and metals demand, he said, but added that the sell-off was likely overdone in the short term.

Copper is used in power and construction and will be needed to transition from fossil fuels to electrification.