Turnaround in commodities: Metals to remain negative

Zinc led declines in most industrial metals and a Bloomberg index of mining shares sank to the lowest level in more than seven years amid signs of a worsening Chinese economy.

The private Caixin services-purchasing managers index for December fell to its weakest in 17 months, suggesting a Chinese government gauge may be too optimistic.
The yuan slid to a five-year low, while the central bank cut its daily fixing to the lowest since April 2011. “Sentiment among actors on the metal markets in the new year has continued to be negative so far,” Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said in a note.