Copper continues free-fall, plunging to US$ 2.10

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LONDON.- Copper closed with its third loss in a row -the 16th in 19 trading days, at the London Metal Exchange (LME) after trading for US$ 2.13234 per pound of "grade A" material, compared to US$ 2.21353 on Thursday and US$ 2.32512 on Wednesday.

As a result of the loss, the monthly average fell to US$ 2.48447, while the yearly average slipped to US$ 3.54103.

Today's value is the lowest for the red metal since January 18th of 2006, when it traded for US$ 2.13188.

Investors remain cautious about the short-term copper scenario due to ongoing signs of an impending global recession.

"Right now, prices seem to be driven by demand and the growth in demand is obviously decreasing", stated Numis Securities analyst, Richard Knights.

Meanwhile, the future-3-month price ended at US$ 2.18586 per pound, down 3.63% from Thursday (US$ 2.10921).

At the LME, stocks decreased by 575 metric tons to 211,450. So far this year, copper has registered an accumulated increase of 14,000 MT (+7.09%).