Wednesday marked decline of copper prices for the second consecutive session, as market players awaited the start of China’s National
People’s Congress annual meeting on Thursday.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for May delivery slumped 1.7 cents, or 0.64%, to trade at $2.640 a pound during European morning hours. Futures were likely to find support at $2.616, the low from February 25, and resistance at $2.695, the high from March 3.
Yesterday, copper lost 4.1 cents, or 1.52%, to settle at $2.656 a pound, as concerns over the health of China's economy and a broadly stronger U.S. dollar dampened the appeal of the red metal.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
The latest meeting of the legislature, the second to be overseen by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, comes amid continuous worries over the health of the country’s economy.
Premier Li is expected to lower China’s economic growth target for 2015 to 7.0% from its level of “around 7.5%” for last year and that further stimulus measures will be announced as deflation risks rise.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold futures for April delivery shed $2.40, or 0.2%, to trade at $1,202.00 a troy ounce, while silver futures for May delivery dipped 6.6 cents, or 0.41% to trade at $16.23 an ounce.
The US dollar remained backed amid expectations for higher interest rates in the U.S.
At the same time, the euro was likely to remain under pressure as investors turned their attention to the upcoming European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, when it was expected to announce details of its quantitative easing program.
Traders also looked ahead to the release of the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, for further indications on the strength of the recovery in the labor market.
