Copper fizzles in December, marking end of volatile year

Dec 30, 2008 | 11:40 AM | Anne Riley

December was a cruel month for copper, which plummeted more than 20 percent within a 30-day period to end a year that will be remembered for base metals' peaking highs and crippling lows.

Three-month copper ended second-ring trade on the London Metal Exchange at $2,850 a tonne on Tuesday, down 21.4 percent from $3,625 a tonne on Dec. 1 and almost 70 percent behind July's nearly $9,000-a-tonne highs.

Copper for March delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $1.3205 a pound, down 19 percent from its start-of-month value of $1.631 a pound.....





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