Japan Official Copper Price Hits 860,000 yen/t, Lowest in 2.5 Months

Nippon Mining & Metals announced on Friday the firm revised down the official copper ingot price by 50,000 yen to 860,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in November. Overseas copper markets, the indicator for Japanese domestic official price, declined by 7% within November with concerns US economy weakens under the influence of the subprime loan problem. Additionally the telegraphic transfer selling rate sharply strengthened to 113.87 yen per US dollar on Friday, up by near 3 yen this month. The domestic official copper price hit the lowest in late 2.5 months. The monthly average would be 877,100 yen without any more revision in November.Copper settlement at London Metal Exchange dropped down by US$ 229 to US$ 7,222 per tonne on Thursday from Wednesday. The spot price continued decreasing to below US$ 7,200 in afternoon trading of Thursday. Copper spot price at New York Mercantile Exchange weakened by US 5.40 cents to US 319.70 cents per pound on Thursday from Wednesday, which hit the lowest in 2.5 months.