Investing.com - Copper prices fell to a two-week low on Thursday, following the release of disappointing data on China’s manufacturing sector and after Federal Reserve decided to taper its monthly bond-buying program by $10 billion for the fourth consecutive meeting.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for July delivery fell to a daily low of $3.004 a pound, the weakest level since April 16.
Copper last traded at $3.009 a pound during European morning hours, down 0.62%, or 1.9 cents. Prices fell 1.48%, or 4.5 cents, on Wednesday to settle at $3.027 a pound.
Futures were likely to find support at $2.981 a pound, the low from April 16 and resistance at $3.079 a pound, the high from April 30.
Data released earlier showed that China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index inched up to 50.4 in April, just below an expectation of 50.5, and higher than the 50.3 reported last month.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Meanwhile, the Fed said Wednesday it would reduce its bond purchases by $10 billion to a total of $45 billion a month, in a widely expected decision. The U.S. central bank acknowledged that first quarter growth was far weaker than expected, but added that momentum had started to pick up in recent weeks.
Data released Wednesday showed that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 0.1% in the first three months of the year, well below forecasts for an expansion of 1.2%.
Investors now looked ahead to Friday’s closely-watched U.S. jobs report for April, which was expected to indicate that the recovery in the labor market is continuing.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for June delivery lost 1%, or $13.00, to trade at $1,282.90 a troy ounce, while silver for July delivery dropped 0.65%, or 12.4 cents, to trade at $19.05 an ounce.