Mumbai, 2 Aug (Commoditiescontrol): Base metals declined on Friday, pressured by weak manufacturing data from the United States and China, which intensified concerns about the global economic outlook and sparked fresh worries about demand.
On the London Metal Exchange (LME), three-month copper slipped by 0.3% to $9,030 per metric ton by 0215 GMT. Meanwhile, the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 1.9% to 73,550 yuan ($10,157.44) per ton.
Copper, often regarded as an economic barometer, showed little change on a weekly basis after three consecutive weeks of declines. The market has been weighed down by subdued demand, high inventories, and the lack of specific stimulus measures from China to support its struggling housing sector.
Factory activity in China, the world's largest consumer of metals, contracted in July for the first time in nine months, according to a private sector survey released on Thursday. This data aligns with an official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey released on Wednesday, which showed that manufacturing activity in China had declined to a five-month low.
In the United States, a key measure of manufacturing activity also fell in July, reaching its lowest point in eight months due to a drop in new orders. This added to the global demand concerns impacting base metals.
Investors are now looking ahead to the U.S. monthly payrolls report, due later in the day, to assess the health of the world's largest economy.
Other base metals also recorded declines. On the LME, aluminum fell by 0.6% to $2,282 per ton, zinc dipped 0.9% to $2,683, tin decreased 1.2% to $29,525, lead slipped 0.8% to $2,045, and nickel edged down 0.3% to $16,235.
In Shanghai, aluminum was down 0.8% to 19,135 yuan per ton, zinc declined 0.4% to 22,765 yuan, tin dropped 1.4% to 247,220 yuan, nickel fell 1.9% to 130,390 yuan, and lead tumbled 3.8% to 18,145 yuan.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: 09820130172)
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