Copper suffers fourth consecutive loss

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LONDRES.- Copper closed with a loss of 2.48% (its fourth consecutive loss) today at the London Metal Exchange (LME), bringing the price down to a new low for this year after trading for US$ 2.82180 per pound of "grade A" material, compared to US$ 2.89347 on Wednesday and US$ 2.91161 on Tuesday of this week.

This price range has not been observed since March 14th of 2007.

As a result of the plunge, the monthly average dropped to US$ 2.85764, while the yearly average slipped to US$ 3.60545.

The current value is the lowest since December 18th of 2007, when the metal closed at US$ 2.84 per pound.

Meanwhile, the future-3-month price ended at US$ 2.80774 per pound, down -2.69% compared to Wednesday (US$ 2.88530).

At the LME, stocks increased by 25 metric tons to 199,075.

The expected deceleration of demand in China,the world's largest copper consumer, as well as concerns over consumption within the construction and energy industries, have begun to erode market confidence.