A firm US dollar brought copper even further down to a 9-month low.  After a record high on July 2 copper sank more than 25% and investors continued to hold out for the conditions of the US financial bailout plan.  Leon Westgate at Standard Bank blames the dollar for the drop in copper.

He said the market was focusing on sluggish demand for industrial metals from the United States and Europe, and said that even if top copper consumer China was still doing relatively well, its future looked uncertain.

“It is now up to the Chinese and it depends on how badly their economy has been impacted by this downturn,” he said.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange will be shut this week for National Day holidays.

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