Copper Prices Slide Amid Rising Interest Rate Hopes
Copper prices have retreated as concerns over interest rates weigh on demand expectations. The metal's benchmark three-month price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.22% to $14,586.5 a metric ton after hotter-than-expected US economic data was released.
The data showed that US business activity rose to a more than five-year high in September, putting pressure on copper prices. Analysts at Chinese broker Galaxy Futures said interest rate expectations were boosted by the economic data.
Rate traders are now pricing in a 72% chance that the US Federal Reserve will increase interest rates again in its October meeting, up from 49% a week earlier, according to the CME's Fedwatch tool. This has raised concerns that higher-for-longer interest rates could compress demand for the red metal.