Copper held below $5.85 per pound on Thursday after losing nearly 4% in the previous session, weighed down rising supplies in top consumer China. An industry group has forecasted that the country’s refined copper output will likely rise by about 5% this year following a 10% increase last year. Rising stockpiles in major trading hubs, particularly LME warehouses in Asia, also weighed on prices, signaling that supplies initially destined for the US may have been redirected elsewhere. On the demand side, purchases from Chinese fabricators and manufacturers slowed for a second consecutive day on Wednesday as businesses prepare for the Lunar New Year holidays. The dip-buying earlier this week also faded as precious metals, especially gold and silver, came under renewed selling pressure.
