Copper prices slide to 20-month low on economic slowdown fears

Rising US interest rates have pushed the dollar to its strongest in two decades, making dollar-priced metals costlier for non-US buyers and potentially dampening demand

Copper prices on Wednesday fell to their lowest since November 2020 as traders waited for U.S. inflation data that could influence the pace of interest rate rises, economic growth and metals demand.
 

Copper has tumbled more than 30% from a record high in March as central banks began to raise rates rapidly to quell decades-high inflation, sparking fears of an economic downturn.
 

Also pressuring metals is weak demand in top consumer China, where COVID-19 lockdowns disrupted manufacturing.
 

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.6% at $7,313 a tonne at 1027 GMT after slipping as low as