Copper Prices Plummet Amid Europe's Debt Crisis

Copper prices have taken a hit as concerns over Europe's debt crisis continue to simmer. Despite earlier gains, the Comex December copper contract fell by 2.05 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.3880 a pound, weighed down by a stronger dollar and weaker equities. The region's debt crisis has damped the outlook for copper, as Europe is the world's second-largest copper consumer after China.

Key Takeaways:

Copper prices were down 2.05 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.3880 a pound, as the Comex December contract was recently traded.
The stronger dollar and weaker equities have undermined demand for copper, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index recently down 0.5% to 1218.38.
The European debt crisis has damped the outlook for copper, as Europe is the world's second-largest copper consumer after China.
Finance ministers from the Group of 20 largest economies had set the Oct. 23 meeting as the deadline for resolving Europe's credit problems.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said resolving all problems by Oct. 23 is impossible, further weighing on copper prices.
Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) has halted work at its Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia for "safety reasons" after striking workers blocked all access to the mine.

Statistics:

Copper prices were down 2.05 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.3880 a pound.
The Comex December copper contract was recently traded at 0.6% below its previous value.
The stronger dollar has rallied against a basket of international currencies, with the ICE Dollar Index rising to 76.983 recently.
The world's second-largest copper consumer, Europe, is converging on the world's largest consumer, China.

Sources:

Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex
Dow Jones Newswires