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Commodities Drop, Paced by Copper, as Slowdown Concern Builds; Gold Rises
Commodities fell, led by copper’s drop to a nine-month low, on speculation that demand for raw materials will decline as European policymakers prepare to assess whether Greece can meet conditions of a rescue loan.
Industrial users of metals and energy and companies that use agriculture commodities to make food may slow purchases, waiting on a solution to the euro crisis. Greece needs to prove to its partners it’s doing enough to receive more aid.
“People are waiting on the sidelines to see if prices get cheaper,” said Gary Mead, an analyst at VM Group in London. “Industrial and end-users and consumers in the wholesale sense are in a wait-and-see mode. It’s clearly the fact that there’s no decision on the table for the end of the euro crisis. There’s a tremendous amount of fear out there.”
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index dropped 2.5 percent at 1:16 p.m. in New York, heading for the biggest drop on a closing basis since Aug. 18. Copper for delivery in three months slid as much as 4.3 percent to $8,323 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, the lowest price since Nov. 30. Crude-oil futures for November delivery declined 3.4 percent to $84.99 a barrel in New York.
Mine Strikes
Copper had been supported by strikes at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX)’s mines in Indonesia and Peru. Freeport resumed mining at its Grasberg mine over the weekend as 1,500 workers returned to the site in Indonesia’s Papua province. Miners in Peru may strike again on Sept. 27, a union official said, after they returned to their jobs this weekend ending a four-day work stoppage.
The S&P GSCI Spot Index has tumbled 5.7 percent this month, after losing 1.7 percent in August. Concerns that there may be an economic slowdown in the euro zone and the U.S. have outweighed the effects of constrained supplies of crude and copper. A report this week may show U.S. home construction dropped to a three-month low.
Finance chiefs from the euro region said last week the 18- month debt crisis leaves no room for tax cuts or extra spending to spur an economy on the brink of stagnation. Reports this week are forecast to show a decline in German investor confidence and a slowdown in manufacturing in Europe’s largest economy.
Global Traction
Money managers cut their net-long positions in 18 commodities by 5.2 percent to 1.21 million futures and options contracts in the week ended Sept. 13, government data compiled by Bloomberg show. That was the first drop since early August.
“People are becoming more concerned about demand prospects, especially with a weakening economic point of view,” said Michael Banks, a researcher at London-based Hermes Commodities, which manages $1.9 billion in assets. “This economic weakening is pervasive across all markets.”
Gold futures for December delivery dropped 2.2 percent to $1,774.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York.
Corn futures for December delivery fell 0.9 percent to $6.8575 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after touching $6.765, the lowest since Aug. 9. Wheat futures for December delivery slipped 16 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $6.7225 a bushel, and soybean futures for November delivery fell 25.5 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $13.30 a bushel.