Data sends copper prices slightly lower

Copper prices were slightly lower in New York and London Wednesday on demand concerns on mixed economic news.

German business confidence was reported at a 26 year low in a survey by the Ifo institute, while the Malaysian central bank forecast that there could be “significant” economic contraction in Malaysia in the first half of the year.

On the other hand, prices recovered a bit after reports that new home sales in the United States were up by 4.7 percent in February, while durable goods orders there were 3.4 percent higher after both numbers had been expected to decline.

May copper was down less than a cent to $1.80 per pound in New York, while three-month copper dropped $7.50 to $3,967.50 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Precious metals prices were higher on the day, however, with June gold adding $12 to $938 per troy ounce while May silver was up 8 cents to $13.44 per troy ounce and July platinum gained $5.40 to $1,128.10 per troy ounce.