Farallon Resources Ltd. (fka FRLIF)

[the cork]

Zinc dips, Copper Falls to Seven-Month Low
as Slowdown May Curb Metals Use

By Claudia Carpenter

June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell to a seven-month low in New York and London as slowing economic growth may curb demand for industrial metals used in cars and homes. Nickel rebounded.

The MSCI World Index of shares dropped for a second day after Group of 20 finance chiefs meeting in Busan, South Korea, over the weekend said the global rebound faces “significant challenges.” Copper futures have declined 17 percent this year.

“The pace of the global economic recovery is slowing,” said Eliane Tanner, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich. “Sentiment in the base metals sector is quite negative due to lower equity markets.”

Copper for July delivery declined 3.8 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $2.7815 a pound at 8:53 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices earlier dropped to $2.734, the lowest level for a most-active contract since Oct. 6. In London, copper for three- month delivery fell 1.4 percent to $6,191.25 a metric ton ($2.81 a pound).

Nickel erased a decline, and its gain accelerated after German factory orders unexpectedly jumped for a second month in April as the weaker euro boosted export demand and companies increased investment.

Orders rose 2.8 percent from March, when they surged 5.1 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. Economists had forecast a 0.4 percent drop. The dollar was little changed against the euro today.

Employment Report

Industrial metals as measured by the LME index dropped 11 percent last week, the most since December 2008, after the June 4 jobs report that showed U.S. private-sector employers added 41,000 jobs to their payrolls in May, down from 218,000 in April.

The U.S. economy may be headed for a slowdown reminiscent of the one it suffered in 2002 as the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe, fading government support and persistently high joblessness weigh on expansion in the second half of the year.

Aluminum was little changed at $1,879.50 a ton, zinc fell 0.4 percent to $1,633.75 a ton and lead decreased 1 percent to $1,591.25 a ton. Tin was little changed at $16,027 a ton and nickel climbed 1.4 percent to $18,200 a ton.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aPFJ0M58jt5M