Copper prices ended Friday at US$2.8355 a pound, their lowest level in 4 1/2 years, as investors remained skeptical of efforts to reinvigorate the economy of China, which consumes 40% of copper worldwide, The Wall Street Journal reported. With copper’s wide use in manufactured goods and construction, investors are concerned that the slowdown will lead to less demand for the metal. Beijing’s relaxation last week of a major restraint on lenders’ ability to use deposits to make loans seems to have fallen short of copper investors’ hopes for a re-stoking of the fires among sectors that help push demand for the commodity.
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