Reuters – Commodity prices tumbled across Asia on Monday, extending last week’s sell-off in copper, gold and other markets by once big-spending hedge funds in North America and Europe.
Gold, zinc and copper — all big gainers in recent months — each lost nearly 1 percent of value.
Rubber and gold futures in Tokyo and aluminium in Shanghai traded to their lowest daily price limit allowed under exchange guidelines, while tin in Kuala Lumpur shed 2.2 percent.
The declines drove shares in Australia’s commodity-weighted stock market reeling and left analysts questioning whether the maxim of “stronger-for-longer” still applies.
“Most people are not sure whether it’s a correction or an end of the current bullish trend,” said Shen Haihua, vice president of Southwest Futures in Shanghai.
The routing started on Friday, with metals markets bearing the brunt of widespread selling by investment funds at the London Metal Exchange and later at in COMEX trading, where copper for March delivery toppled 3.5 percent to 2.2245 a lb.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodity futures unofficially closed down 1.59 percent at 331.60 on Friday, compared with 336.96 in the previous session.
