By BUSINESS REPORTERS –
London copper edged lower on Tuesday, falling for a fifth consecutive session to trade around its lowest in four and a half years on worries about slowing demand in top consumer China.
Reuters said the three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.2 per cent, or US$9.75 a tonne, to US$6,280.25, after hitting US$6,230 a tonne on Monday, the lowest since June 2010.
The report said the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange finished 0.2 per cent higher at 45,290 Yuan a tonne.
“We think the price has a little bit more room to fall, I will not be surprised to see prices go down to $6,000 a tonne,” said one metals trader in Shanghai.
Locally the Kwacha slipped against the United State dollar in yesterday’s trading session, weighed down by dollar demand from commercial banks and corporates.
According to Standard Chartered Bank, the local currency opened trading at K6.3400 and K6.4650 against the dollar.
A check by Times at JIT Bureau de Change in Lusaka indicated that the Kwacha was trading at K6.300 and K6.450 against the greenback, while at Struts Bureau de Change the local currency was selling at K6.400 and buying was at K6.250.
The Zambia National Commercial Bank’s daily newsletter indicated that Tuesday’s trading session was weighed down by stronger than expected dollar demand in a seemingly busy trading day.
From an open of K6.340/6.360, unchanged from the previous days’ close, the Kwacha immediately showed weakness before touching an intraday low of K6.390/6.410 on the bid and off where it eventually closed off.
The kwacha is expected to trade with a bearish tone in the next few days, weighed down by dollar demand from commercial banks and corporates.
Market players are squaring positions ahead of book closure for the year, while importers are building long dollar positions in anticipation of further weakening of the local currency.