Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 2.8 percent to $8,583.25 a metric ton, and traded at that level by 3:54 p.m. Singapore time. The contract, which reached a record $8,966 a ton yesterday, is down 0.8 percent this week. Oil futures fell $1.9, or 2.2 percent, and were set for a weekly drop.
Asian equities and U.S. stock-index futures also slid on concern China may raise interest rates for the second time in two months as consumer prices jumped 4.4 percent in October, the fastest pace in two years. Most China commodity prices tumbled by the exchange-set limits.
The recent tightening including the reserve-ratio hike this week fueled more expectation that China will accelerate the pace it increases interest rates.
The People’s Bank of China boosted its benchmark one-year lending rate on Oct. 19 by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.56 percent, the first increase since 2007.
The central bank on Nov. 10 ordered an increase in bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points from Nov. 16, the first nationwide increase since May. Some lenders, including Bank of Communications Co., have to increase their reserve ratios by an additional 50 basis points from Nov. 15, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
| Precious metals are of course precious and men and women love them - Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium. Crude and Natural Gas keep the world moving. Base Metals - Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc are widely used in industry. |
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