Source: Mining Weekly, the Street, Market Watch                       Date: 29 September, 2011

Copper prices continued its three-month drop to hit its 14-month low this week.Three-month copper fell more than 7 percent to USD 6,800 per ton on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Copper prices have dropped 20 percent this year in total.Analysts believe there will be some buyers looking to buy up reserves while prices are cheap, but the market volatility could create caution even in China. China is responsible for 37 percent of the world's copper demand. Many investors may have been scared off by the possibility China's demand may slow down.“There will be some buying over the next weeks, but right now considering the national holidays at the beginning of October, I think any buying will be very cautious,” said Eugene Weinberg,” analyst at Commerzbank.“You get the feeling it's hitting bottom. The supply and demand equation still remains tight,” Diego Hernandez, Chief Executive of Corporacion Nacional del Cobre (Codelco). Chile's Codelco project is the world's largest copper producer.  “We're optimistic about copper in the medium-to-long term,” he added.Read more.Aluminum, zinc, and lead fell along with copper as well. Three-month aluminum fell to its lowest level since September 2010, closing at USD 2,206; zinc fell it its lowest since mid July 2010, closing at USD 1,915; and lead hit its lowest prices since July 2010 at USD 1,927. Losses were also seen in tin and nickel.Economists now expect China's Purchasing Manager Index, due next Thursday, to signal a contraction in the manufacturing sector for the first time since February 2009. The economic perils of Europe and the North America, which are responsible for 19 percent and 11 percent of the world's copper demand respectively, will likely exacerbate the issue.