Copper falls to 7-week low after China PMI data

           Copper futures fell to a seven-week low on Thursday, after data confirmed a contraction in China’s manufacturing sector and following the Federal Reserve’s decision to taper its monthly bond-buying program by USD10 billion for the second consecutive meeting.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery fell to a session low of USD3.231 a pound, the weakest since December 9, before trimming losses to trade at USD3.235 during European morning hours, down 0.15%. 

The March copper contract settled down 0.38% on Wednesday to end at USD3.240 a pound. Copper futures were likely to find support at USD3.217 a pound, the low from December 6 and resistance at USD3.269 a pound, the high from January 29.

China’s final HSBC Purchasing Managers Index released earlier fell to a six-month low of 49.5 in January, down from a preliminary reading of 49.6 and compared to 50.5 in December.

China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.

Meanwhile, the Fed said Wednesday that it would reduce its monthly bond buying program by USD10 billion to a total of USD65 billion a month, in a widely anticipated decision.

The U.S. central bank said growth signals are encouraging, and the unemployment market shows improvement "on balance".

The Fed left unchanged its statement that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the central bank has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.

The Fed added it will keep a close eye on economic indicators before deciding to wind down its stimulus program even further.

The U.S. is to publish preliminary data on fourth quarter economic growth. The nation is also to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales.

Market players continued to monitor liquidity conditions in emerging markets, such as Turkey and South Africa. 

Emerging markets economies have been hard hit in recent sessions by worries over the impact of cuts in Fed stimulus and concerns over a possible slowdown in China.

Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for April delivery fell 0.6% to trade at USD1,254.50 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery declined 0.85% to trade at USD19.39 a troy ounce. - investing.com