(15/04) METALS-China inflation data knocks copper price

April 15, 2011

Copper fell on Friday, heading for its fifth straight session of losses as investors worried Chinese inflation at a 32-month high would lead to tighter monetary policy hitting demand in the top metals consumer.

Chinese consumer price inflation sped to 5.4 percent in the year to March, the fastest since July 2008 and topping market forecasts for a 5.2 percent increase. China's gross domestic product eased a touch.

Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was at $9,383.75 a tonne from Thursday's close of $9,410.
Copper inventories at LME warehouses fell 375 tonnes to 450,425 tonnes on Thursday, little respite in an upward trend that has seen stocks of the metal used in power and construction climb by a fifth so far this year.