Copper prices under pressure

London
Copper prices under pressure from worries about demand from top consumer China are heading for further losses towards the psychological $5,000 a tonne level, a break of which could open the door to the July 2009 low at $4,710.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange earlier on Monday hit a six-year low of $5,142 a tonne, a drop of more than 20 percent since the May peak.
Much of the selling has been triggered by worries about economic growth and demand for copper in China, which accounts for about half of global consumption estimated at around 22 million tonnes this year. But a break of key technical levels such as $5,630, the 61.8 percent retracement of the rally between December 2008 and February 2011 have added force to the sell-off. "The attempt at $5,400 last week was short-lived, a lot of profit-taking followed," said Kash Kamal, research analyst at Sucden Financial. "We can see downside towards $5,000."