Talking Points:
- Copper Trades 3.8% lower today
- China’s PMI increases to 49.8, yet still remains below the pivotal 50 mark
- Copper remains below descending trendline
Copper trades 3.8% lower today, suggesting that overall demand worries have overshadowed 2015’s improved Chinese PMI data.
As reported by HSBC, January’s flash PMI increased to 49.8 from last month’s 49.6. Coming in above the 49.5 surveyed by Bloomberg, the index showed an improvement in domestic demand as well as an increase in external demand, albeit at a slower rate. However, while stimulus measures are beginning to take effect some sectors of the economy still remain ill fated. The labor market has increasingly weakened while input and output prices have deteriorated at a faster rate. With the final figure not to be released until February 2nd, preliminary data stands alone in the wake of Tuesday’s 2014 GDP announcement.
With economic growth cited to be the slowest in 24 years, investors seem to be more concerned with China’s overall demand prospects than its marginally improved manufacturing sector. Perhaps their concern is merited given last month’s decline in copper imports which fell 1.7% from 320,308 MT to 314,980 MT.
Copper Daily Chart
Chart Created by Walker England Using MarketScope2.0
