Copper prices fall

Copper prices tumbled below $6,000 a tonne today, sending shares in the mining sector down as much as 5%.

Copper for delivery in three months traded at $5,840 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME), down from $6,120 a tonne last night and its lowest level since April last year.

The metal has now lost around a third of its value since it hit a record high of $8,800 a tonne in May.

Today’s fall came as rising copper stocks fuelled fears of a surplus of supply this year at a time of falling demand as the global economy slows.

LME copper inventories have surged so far this year and now stand at more than 190,000 tonnes, reflecting the slowing level of demand and rising supply.

The subsequent fall in price has pushed other base metals lower, such as aluminium and tin. The price of gold has also come under pressure.

It sent shares in the mining sector plummeting as investors feared the falling price could damage profits. Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources and Xstrata fell around 5% while Kazakhmys, Lonmin, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were off around 3%.

David Buik, of Cantor Index, said: “The fall in copper and a slight retrenchment of gold has seen the miners surrender ground more or less across the board.”