Commodity News
HeadLine : Copper slips as China factory growth judders
Date : Aug 3 2015

London copper slipped on Monday on jitters over China's economic health, after factory growth stuttered in July and a central bank official said downward pressure on the economy would persist into the second half.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped by 0.3 percent to $5,212, after posting small losses in the previous session. Prices shed 9 percent in July, and plumbed six-year lows of $5,164 a tonne last week.

Shanghai Futures Exchange copper fell 0.4 percent to 38,240 yuan ($6,158.11) a tonne in Friday's late session.

Growth at China's big manufacturing companies unexpectedly stalled in July as demand at home and abroad weakened, an official survey showed on Saturday, reinforcing views that the economy needs more stimulus as it faces fresh risks from a stock market slump.

Downward pressure on China's economy will persist in the second half of the year as growth in infrastructure spending and exports is unlikely to pick up, a senior central bank official was quoted as saying.

U.S. labor costs in the second quarter recorded their smallest increase in 33 years as workers earned less in commissions and bonuses, in what appeared to be a temporary wage growth setback against the backdrop of diminishing labor market slack.

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