China recorded a fall in copper prices on Monday, November 27, 2022 as unprecedented street protests in cities across the country threatened to further dampen the already moderate economic activity in the country responsible for more than half of global base metal consumption.

On the Comex market in New York, copper for delivery in March fell by 1% to $3.59 per pound or $7,915 per ton. Indeed, since the flagship metal hit record highs in March and a new survey of more than 30 investment banks and economic research houses sees little prospect of exiting the bear market, it is now down by 27%.

For FocusEconomics, an independent research firm based in Barcelona, demand for copper and industrial metals is expected to remain quite low in the first half of next year “as global interest rates peak and the Chinese economy is likely to remain burdened by the housing crash and Covid-19.