All futures products traded on Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE),
including copper, aluminum, zinc, natural rubber and fuel oil, fell
yesterday because of investors' rising concern about a slowdown in
the US economy and its implications for the global economy.
"No bullish news has been heard recently about the supply and
demand fundamentals (of commodities) in the global market," said
Lin Hui, an analyst at a futures company of Orient Securities.
"Under such circumstances, uncertainties about the world economic
growth will have a negative impact on commodity prices."
Natural rubber led yesterday's price drop in Shanghai, following
the weak performance on Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), the
international pricing center for natural rubber.
The most actively traded natural rubber contract for April
delivery fell 2.63 percent to 296.6 yen per kg. On the SHFE, the
most actively traded natural rubber contract for January delivery
slumped 4 percent to 21,710 yuan per ton, the biggest one-day drop
since trading started in late 1997.
Analysts said the recent drop of US dollar against the yen has
dragged down the prices of commodities on TOCOM. The dollar
yesterday fell another 3.07 percent to 110.36 against the yen,
triggering, among other things, the price slump of natural rubber
on TOCOM, which, in turn, pushed down prices in other markets.
Non-ferrous metals, including copper, aluminum and zinc,
yesterday saw big price drops on SHFE, in sync with the downtrend
in the global market.
In Shanghai, copper futures for December delivery dropped 3.46
percent to 59,990 yuan per ton while zinc futures for delivery in
January fell 3.71 percent to 21,805 yuan per ton.
Three-month copper futures on London Metals Exchange (LME)
dropped 1.85 percent last Friday, making the global benchmark
copper price fall an aggregate 4.8 percent in the past week. Copper
futures on LME in yesterday's electronic trading dropped 1.63
percent to $6,925, standing below the $7,000 psychological
barrier.
Stephen Green, senior economist at Standard Chartered Shanghai,
said the copper market was hit hard by the weakness in the US
housing market and the rising LME stocks, which reached a six-month
high this month.
(China Daily November 13, 2007)
