Copper drops on data

Copper prices were 3 cents lower in New York on Thursday to $3.74 per pound as separate reports from the Labor Department and Commerce Department showed that there were more first-time unemployment claims than anticipated in the US last week and that factory orders there dropped the most in seven months in August.

The new data spurred concerns that the US economy will slow, reducing demand for the metal there.

The International Copper Study Group has reported that US copper consumption was 2.7 percent lower in the first half of the year after having fallen by 6 percent last year

Meanwhile in London, three-month copper prices were $100 lower to $8,200 per tonne, or $3.72 per pound.

Elsewhere in base metals, three-month lead dropped 0.9 percent on the London Metal Exchange to $3,607 per tonne, but not before rising to $3,655 per tonne earlier in the session.

Prices have risen on supply disruptions caused by an inquiry into lead contamination at a port that ships lead from Australia as well as on strong demand for use in making batteries.

LME nickel dropped 2.5 percent to $30,750 on the session after the exchange intervened in the market to try to deal with supply issues.