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Copper slumps on

speculative sale

NEW YORK: Speculators wiped two cents off nearby Comex copper contracts as they sold off long positions because demand may turn out to be less rosy than forecast, traders and analysts said on Tuesday.

December sell-stops were triggered and cleared at just below 134.00 cents a lb.

"It was the liquidation of September longs by speculators who did not roll over to December," a trader said.

December closed at 133.60 cents, down 1.70 cents, traded 135.60 to 133.60 cents. September ended 2.25 cents down at 134.60 cents. Estimated volume was 11,000 lots and 1,541 switches, against yesterday's 6,261 lots.

A floor source said local buying stopped the market falling further.

Analyst Bernard Savaiko of PaineWebber said the fall in COMEX and narrowing backwardation are signs that physical demand is weakening. "People are starting to question how much demand is out there. We have some support for December at 133.50 cents but I don't think that's going to be the bottom," Savaiko said.

Savaiko said December could test 130.50 cents, but the floor source expected the market to start climbing.-Reuter