Chart of the Day: Pressure exerted on price of SMX Copper Futures

China, the largest buyer of copper, has investors worried.

Singapore Mercantile Exchange said:

Investors’ concerns over slower economic growth in China, the largest buyer of copper, exerted pressure on copper futures price during the past two weeks.

- Jiangxi Copper, the largest producer of copper in China, reported an 18% y/y fall in net income for its second half 2011.

- The HSBC Final China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell from 49.6 in February to 48.3 in March, indicating a slowdown in manufacturing activity and weakening domestic demand. The reading was below 50 for the fifth straight month.

However, Copper futures still found critical support towards the end of past fortnight from Eurozone Governments’ effort to boost their fiscal crisis-fighting tools and firm U.S. consumer sentiment data. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment improved from 75.3 in February to 76.2 in March.