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Copper is headed for the biggest annual loss in three years amid sign of an economic slowdown this year in China, the world's largest metals consumer.
The final reading this month for the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for China from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was 49.6, lowest in seven months. A figure below 50 signifies contraction. China is on course for the slowest year of economic growth since 1990, according to a Bloomberg survey. Imports into China unexpectedly fell in November and factory-gate prices have continued to slide, figures showed this month.
"There are concerns that China's PMI reading will remain weak," RBC Capital Markets said in a note on Wednesday.
