The price of copper was down again Friday on new data that outweighed concerns about tight supplies.
July contracts for copper dropped 3.4% to $3.97 per pound Friday in New York trade, as the metal used in construction and manufacturing fell 8.3% for the week. Additionally, contracts for Aluminum declined accordingly.
Reports that China will continue to tighten monetary policy in an attempt to rein in inflation, could result in declines in copper demand.
Also contributing the price decline was a report from a private company showing that the US private sector added 179,000 new jobs last month, fewer than the 200,000 new jobs analysts expected would be added to the economy, while in a separate report the Institute for Supply Management reported that its non-manufacturing index was at 52.8 last month, down from 57.3 in March, showing that the US services sector expanded at its slowest pace in 8 months in April.
