Copper futures decline 0.70% on weak global cues

NEW DELHI: Copper prices declined by 0.70 per cent to Rs 334.90 per kg in futures trading today as speculators offloaded positions.

Further, subdued demand from consuming industries fuelled the downtrend.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange ( MCX), copper for delivery in February moved down by Rs 2.35, or 0.70 per cent, to Rs 334.90 per kg in a business turnover of 1,291 lots.

Also, the metal for delivery in April traded lower by Rs 2.30, or 0.67 per cent, to Rs 339.45 in a business volume of 82 lots.

Analysts attributed the fall in copper futures to weak trend in base metals at the London Metal Exchange ( LME) before this weekend's release of manufacturing data from China, the biggest consumer of metals, and rising inventory.

Globally, copper for delivery in three months slipped 0.1 per cent to USD 5,390 a metric tonne at the LME, while in Shanghai, the metal for delivery in April fell 0.7 per cent to 39,030 yuan (USD 6,243) a metric tonne.

Meanwhile, inventory tracked by the LME advanced to 247,450 metric tonnes on January 29, the highest in nine and a half months, according to bourse data.