KUALA LUMPUR: London copper dropped on Wednesday, snapping four days of gains, on concerns that demand for the metal used in pipes and electrical wires will wane after a report showed weak house prices in the United States, the world's largest economy.
The decline was compounded by figures showing Japan's factory output fell more than expected in November after Europe's debt crisis and flooding in Thailand hit major manufacturers.
Investors pulling out commodities this year as global growth slows have moved their holdings to safer assets, including the US dollar and Treasuries.
"There's no safe haven except for cash," said Tan Teng Boo, who helps manage about $350 million at Capital Dynamics in Kuala Lumpur.
"Th euro zone problems are not solved yet. The US dollar is the one that may outperform next year."
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost 1.4 percent to $7,541 a tonne by 0412 GMT. The exchange was closed on Monday and Tuesday. Prices have tumbled 21 percent so far this year, after two annual increases.
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange inched up 0.45 percent to 55,300 yuan ($8,700) a tonne.
Japan's industrial output fell 2.6 percent in November, a much bigger drop than a median market forecast of a 0.8 percent decline, and following a 2.2 percent increase in October, government data showed on Wednesday.
Separately, a report from Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller showed US house prices in 20 major metropolitan areas declined 1.2 percent on an unadjusted basis in October after falling 0.7 percent the prior month.
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