Shanghai copper hits 8-week low on demand woes ahead of China holiday

HANOI: Copper prices in Shanghai hit their lowest in eight weeks on Wednesday, while prices also fell in London, dragged down by demand concerns ahead of a major holiday in top consumer China.

The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped as much as 1.2% to 56,920 yuan ($8,813.60) a tonne, its lowest since Dec. 9, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dipped 0.4% to $7,743 a tonne by 0320 GMT.

China will celebrate its Lunar New Year holiday during Feb. 11-17, when metals demand usually dip as business activities slow.

Meanwhile, a recent coronavirus outbreak in China has dampened the country's economic activities in January, dragging factory output and service activities growth to multi-month lows.

LME nickel dropped 0.4% to $17,625 a tonne, lead declined 0.4% to $2,008.50 a tonne while ShFE nickel dropped 1.7% to 129,700 yuan a tonne and ShFE tin shed 2.4% to 164,440 yuan a tonne.