The price of copper fell more than 6% and iron ore declined to its lowest level this year, as an increasingly bearish outlook on the Chinese economy rippled across markets, the Financial Times reported. The price of benchmark Australian iron ore fell to US$145 per ton, off 20% from a market peak of US$183 in September. Similarly, the price of benchmark three-month-delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange fell to US$6,710 per ton, its lowest level since July 2010. “There has been growing pessimism over the possibility of a hard landing in China,” said Nicholas Snowdon, a base metals analyst at Barclays Capital (part of Barclays; BCS.NYSE, BARC.LSE). “It’s clear there have been some production cuts in the Chinese steel sector. It’s something a lot of hedge funds have pointed to as a sign of weakness in China.”
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