Copper drops to US$ 1.54 at London Exchange

LONDON.- Copper closed with a loss of 0.86% today at the London Metal Exchange (LME), after trading for US$ 1.64926 per pound, compared to US$ 1.66355 on Tuesday and US$ 1.61796 on Monday of this week.

Despite the drop however, the monthly average climbed to US$ 1.61927, while the yearly average rose to US$ 1.50415.

The red metal plunged after trade data revealed that China has finally succumbed to the financial and economic world crisis, though analysts assure that a drop in inventory will help to spike prices.

Trade data out of China, which is the third largest economy in the world, indicated that exports for February - 25.7% lower than the same month of the previous year- fell more than market projections had anticipated. Meanwhile, imports also dropped 24.1% when compared to the same month of last year.

Analysts posed that the export data is bad news for metal industries, since it clearly demonstrates the grave situation of the world's economy.

"Replacements or event purchases made by the Chinese government for their reserves could cause a hike", stated Eugen Weinberg, who is an analyst for Commerzbank. "The inventory data could boost prices", he added.