Japan Official Copper Price Hits Yearly Lowest at 770,000 Yen/t

Nippon Mining & Metals announced on Tuesday the firm revised down the official copper ingot price by 30,000 yen to 770,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in September. The price hit the lowest since mid December of 2007, which plunged by 14.4% or 130,000 yen from 900,000 yen at the end of August while declined by 11.5% or 100,000 yen through 4-time revisions within this month. The monthly average would be 803,000 yen without any more revision within September.The firm revised down the official price when overseas copper market declined and US dollar sharply weakened against other currencies, including Japanese yen, due to bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, USA.The telegraphic transfer selling rate was 105.39 yen per US dollar on 16 September. Japanese yen became stronger by 2.81 yen against US dollar compared with the previous trading day of 12 September and exceeded 105 yen for the first time since early June of this year. Copper settlement at London Metal Exchange dropped down by about US$ 220 to US$ 6,879 per tonne on 15 September from previous trading day with concerns about global stock downturn and slower economy.