Markets got off to a lackluster start on Monday as reported efforts by Beijing to cool down the Chinese housing market pulled the Shanghai Composite Index down 3.65% as SHFE Jun copper settled 0.9% lower today. In London, base metals got off to a mixed start as LME official 3-mo. copper edged up to $7,742/mt (=$3.512/lb.) while LME official 3-mo. aluminum was off slightly at $1,973/mt (89.5 cents/lb.) this morning. In New York, commodity prices were little changed with COMEX May copper holding steady at $3.50/lb. as gold futures hovered around $1,572/to, although crude oil futures dipped below $90/bbl amid reports that China overtook the U.S. as the largest net importer of oil late last year. On Wall Street, the major stock indexes were treading water in early afternoon trading as the yield on 10-year Treasury notes edged up to 1.87% and the dollar briefly traded as high as $1.2978 against the Euro…click here for full story.
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