| Copper fell to the lowest price in more than seven months on concern that slowing global growth may curb demand for raw materials.
The European Union will cut its economic-growth forecast this week, EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said today in Frankfurt, calling the outlook ''unusually uncertain.'' U.S. employers' fourth-quarter hiring plans are at a five-year low, a private survey showed today. Copper has dropped 28 percent from a record in May on demand concerns.
''The U.S. slowdown now seems to be spreading around the world with alarming speed,'' Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said today in a report. ''We have lower to go.''
Copper futures for December delivery fell 0.6 cent, or 0.2 percent, to $3.087 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched $3.048 a pound, the lowest for a most-active contract since Jan. 22.
''There doesn't seem to be any fundamental reason out there for copper to be supported,'' said Ron Goodis, a futures trading director at Equidex Brokerage Group Inc. in Closter, New Jersey. ''We could see it drop to below $3 any day now.''
The metal also fell after an industry report showed fewer Americans signed contracts to buy previously owned homes in July. Builders are the biggest copper consumers, using about 400 pounds (181 kilograms) for pipes and wiring in the average U.S. home.
Slumping Futures
Copper joined a commodities slump today as the Reuters/Jefferies CRB gauge of 19 raw materials dropped as much as 1.8 percent, sliding for an eighth straight day. The gauge has tumbled 24 percent from a record on July 3.
''Most traders want to sell this stuff right now,'' Goodis said. ''The excitement has come out of the commodity markets.''
Copper stockpiles in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange climbed 1,300 metric tons, or 0.6 percent, to 202,125 tons. That's the highest level since March 2007.
The ''sizeable'' gain in inventories pressured copper prices, analysts at Barclays Capital said today in a report.
''Many of our commodities are now in better supply than they were six months ago,'' BHP Billiton Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Marius Kloppers said yesterday in an interview in New York.
Still, mining companies will continue to struggle to keep up with robust demand from emerging economies including China, ensuring ''resilience'' for commodity prices, he said.
BHP, the world's largest mining company, expects output at its Escondida copper mine in Chile to drop as much as 15 percent because of declining ore quality, Kloppers said.
''For the next two years, we've got a 10 to 15 percent production decline,'' he said. Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, produces almost 10 percent of global output.
On the LME, copper for delivery in three months slid $120, or 1.7 percent, to $6,830 a metric ton ($3.10 a pound).
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