On Thursday copper prices traded near the lowest level in six years, amid signs the Federal Reserve is to raise rates this year and as fears over Greece's future in the euro zone re-emerged.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for March delivery lost 3.2 cents, or 1.3%, to trade at $2.447 a pound during European morning hours. Prices hit a session low of $2.436 earlier. Copper futures hit $2.419 a pound on Monday, a level not seen since June 2009.
Yesterday copper tacked on 1.7 cents, or 0.69%, to settle at $2.479.
Futures were likely to find support at the $2.419, the low from January 26, and resistance at $2.543, the high from January 27.
The red metal is down approximately 12% so far in January as concerns over the global economic outlook and the impact on future demand prospects dampened the appeal of the commodity.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold futures for April delivery slumped $10.70, or 0.83%, to trade at $1,276.50 a troy ounce, while silver futures for March delivery tumbled 42.3 cents, or 2.34% to trade at $17.66 an ounce.
The Federal Reserve, following its policy
meeting on Wednesday, said it would keep rates on
hold at least until June and reiterated its pledge to be "patient" on
raising interest rates, while acknowledging the solid economic recovery
and strong growth in the labor market and thus boosting the greenback.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on metals, including gold and as it makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Meanwhile, the euro remained under pressure after Greece’s new government moved Wednesday to roll back deeply unpopular austerity policies underpinning the county’s €240 billion international bailout, fuelling fears over a clash with its international creditors.
On Thursday Greek borrowing costs continued to rise, with the yield on 10-Year government bonds rising above 11%, the highest level since July 2013. Ahead of the election, the 10-year yield was below 9%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to
publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as private
sector data on pending home sales.
