Copper prices drop on China imports data

Copper prices dropped Wednesday on new data showing that China’s copper imports dropped by 19 percent in January, from December’s numbers.

The drop in imports into the world’s biggest consumer of copper painted a picture of a continuing global decline in demand for the metal.

March copper was down 4 cents to $1.54 per pound in New York, while three-month copper dropped $26 to $3,459 per tonne, or $1.57 per pound, on the London Metal Exchange.

Precious metals prices, on the other hand, saw significant gains on fears that the newly announced US plan to revive banks there will not be enough to pull the economy out of its recession.

The gains came as investors looked for safe places to put their cash.

Gold added $30.30 to $944.50 per troy ounce in New York, its highest price since last July, while March silver was up 39 cents to $13.52 per troy ounce and April platinum jumped $45.80 to $1,074 per troy ounce.

Those were the highest prices for silver and platinum in four months.