Shanghai metals slump as demand wanes

Shanghai metals tumbled by their daily limits to multi-year lows yesterday, after London copper fell for the sixth day running, as demand woes continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

"Markets are focusing on demand. Within that, weakness in a couple of sectors - construction and motor vehicles - is a key negative for metals," said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank in Sydney.

"A turnaround in prices will depend very much on the economic environment. Maybe by the latter part of 2009 and into 2010, we could see a pick-up in demand and prices."