The price of copper has fallen below $8,000 U.S. a ton for the first time in six months as demand in China continues to weaken.
Copper’s price fell as much as 2% to $7,944 U.S. a ton on the London Metals Exchange, its lowest level since November 2022.
The precious metal’s price has now declined 7% since the start of May as data points to continued sluggishness in China’s economy.
Commodities speculators are now building bearish bets against copper. This is a reversal from earlier in the year when investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) forecast that copper’s price would reach an all-time high within a year.
Copper’s price has been further hurt by the fact that the Chinese government in Beijing has halted spending on infrastructure and property projects in the nation of 1.4 billion people.
Demand for copper has also been waning in the U.S., where the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening campaign has hurt demand.
Still, Goldman Sachs remains bullish, forecasting in a recent note to clients that copper will return to $10,000 U.S. a ton by this time next year.