By Millie Munshi
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell for a third day after a report showed U.S. housing starts slumped to the lowest level in 17 years, increasing speculation a cooling global economy will slash metals demand.
Housing starts fell 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 895,000 from July, the fewest since January 1991, the Commerce Department said today. Builders are the biggest users of copper in the U.S. Before today, the metal had plunged 27 percent since touching a record in May on speculation financial turmoil, a slumping U.S. housing market and the credit crisis would stifle global growth.
``Copper is going to be under significant pressure during this economic downturn,'' said Frank McGhee, the head metals trader at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago. ``The housing report is adding to bearish sentiment.''
Copper futures for December delivery fell 1.15 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $3.0775 a pound at 9:08 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal lost 3.3 percent in the previous two sessions.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months dropped $60, or 0.9 percent, to $6,810 a metric ton ($3.09 a pound). Before today, the price had declined 9 percent in the past year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net
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