Copper hits one-month low

Reuters

Singapore

Copper slid for a seventh straight session on Monday to its lowest in a month, dragged down by a strong U.S. jobs report that raised the likelihood of interest rate hikes soon and adding to concerns over demand in top consumer China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped to $4,791 a tonne, its lowest since March 3, before paring some losses to trade at $4,798 by 0654 GMT.  The metal has tumbled over 6 percent since hitting a four-month peak of $5,131 a tonne in mid-March.  Further losses are likely as financial investors get to grips with what the physical market already knows, that Chinese demand is subdued and expected to remain so, industry participants said.  "Although refined imports into China remain high, they seem to be disconnected from physical demand realities on the ground, telling us that much of this metal is being brought in on account of arbitrage/financing or storage-related activities," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note.