LONDON - Prices of copper and most other industrial metals fell on Wednesday on concerns that slowing economic growth and Covid-19 lockdowns in top consumer China would depress demand.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.5% at $9 310 a tonne at 11:28 GMT.
Prices of the metal used in power and construction are down from a record high of $10,845 in March but still far above levels for most of the past decade.
Weak US economic data and Chinese efforts to control coronavirus outbreaks have fuelled fears that a global slowdown could be more severe than many had thought, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
But he said that expected stimulus in China means that prices are unlikely to fall much further.
"I'm not worried," he said. "Lockdowns in China can't last for ever and the government cannot live with very low growth."