Farallon Resources Ltd. (fka FRLIF)

[the cork]

Zinc down, Copper Declines as Slump in U.S. Housing Data to Damage Outlook for Demand

By Glenys Sim - Aug 23, 2010 7:31 PM PT

Copper dropped ahead of data that economists forecast will show the U.S. housing market slowed last month, dimming prospects for demand in the world’s second- largest user. The metal in Shanghai slumped to a one-week low.

Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.6 percent to $7,210 a metric ton, and traded at $7,235.25 at 10:20 a.m. in Singapore. The December- delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange tumbled as much as 0.9 percent to 56,640 yuan ($8,329) a ton, the lowest level since Aug. 16, before trading at 56,800 yuan.

“We’re not bullish on metals at the moment as investors are plagued by economic worries,” said Chen Wenbin, an analyst at International Trade Futures Co. Copper in London has dropped 1.8 percent this year amid concern that growth may falter in the U.S. and Europe, damaging economies in Asian.

A report today by the National Association of Realtors may show July sales of existing U.S. homes plummeted 12.9 percent from June, the biggest monthly loss of 2010, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. New-home sales stayed at the second-lowest level on record last month, economists predict Commerce Department data will show tomorrow.

Aluminum in London rose 0.2 percent to $2,044 a ton, while lead was unchanged at $2,048 a ton. Zinc lost 0.4 percent to $2,035 a ton, nickel shed 0.2 percent to $21,150 a ton, and tin hadn’t traded.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-24/copper-declines-as-slump-in-u-s-housing-data-to-damage-outlook-for-demand.html