US copper plummets

Copper suffered its biggest one-day loss since early March on Wednesday, as concerns about inflation-fighting measures in China and disappointing US data pointed to less demand from the world's top-two consumers. The July COMEX copper contract dropped 11.90 cents or 2.8 percent to settle at $4.1340 per lb, near the bottom half of its $4.1285 to $4.2545 range.
Losses mounted in New York after data flagged weakness in the US economic recovery, with reports showing a sharp slowdown in the vast services sector and less hiring by private companies in April. In other metals, aluminium closed down $47 at $2,750 a tonne, with rising energy costs and automotive sales preventing further losses.