Investing.com - Copper futures fell from a four-month high on Monday, after International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde hinted that the agency may be preparing to cut its global growth forecasts.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for September delivery fell 0.5%, or 1.6 cents, to trade at $3.254 a pound during European morning hours.
Prices held in a range between $3.237 and $3.274 a pound. Copper rallied to $3.282 a pound on July 3, the most since February 21.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.183 a pound, the low from July 2 and resistance at $3.294 a pound, the high from February 21.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned over the weekend that the pace of global growth may be “less robust that expected” in the second half of the year due to “lackluster” investment.
She added that risks remain in the U.S. even as its rebound accelerates and that the European recovery is still not as strong as it should be.
The Washington-based agency will publish its latest forecasts for growth later this month, having predicted in April that the global economy will expand by 3.6% this year and 3.9% in 2015.
Copper is sensitive to the economic growth outlook because of its widespread uses across industries.
Meanwhile, investors looked ahead to key economic data out of China and the U.S. later in the week to gauge the health of the global economy.
China is due to release data on consumer price inflation on Wednesday, followed by a report on the trade balance on Thursday.
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is due to release the minutes of its June policy meeting on Wednesday. Upbeat nonfarm payrolls data released last week bolstered the outlook for the broader economic recovery and revived speculation over when the central bank may start to raise interest rates.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for August delivery shed 0.45%, or $5.90, to trade at $1,315.40 a troy ounce, while silver for September delivery slipped 0.88%, or 18.7 cents, to trade at $21.01 an ounce.