LONDON- Prices of copper, aluminum and other industrial metals slumped as the coronavirus outbreak extended outside China, threatening to crimp economic growth and metals consumption.
The number of people infected with coronavirus worldwide surpassed 100,000 on Friday as the outbreak reached more countries and the economic damage intensified. Business districts began to empty and stock markets tumbled.
“I just wonder whether the metals market is able to fully price in the worst impacts in terms of the economy if we are slowing sharply globally and there’s the risk of recession,” said independent metals consultant Robin Bhar.
“China might recover well, but what about the US, Europe, other parts of Asia, which could still be further impacted by the virus? There’s a real threat that we have to see further lows before any sort of recovery can be seen.”
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange shed 1.2 percent in final open-outcry activity to $5,607 a ton. Prices of the metal widely used in power and construction have shed 11 percent since mid-January.
The most active aluminum contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) touched its lowest in 41 months, dropping as much as 0.8 percent to 13,020 yuan ($1,872.14) a ton. –Reuters
