Copper dropped for a fourth consecutive day after a split emerged amongst German and French leaders over how to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
 
French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced on Wednesday that the two leaders were unable to reach consensus over the methods to increase the firepower of the region's bailout fund. Copper has lost more than 6% of its value so far this week, after a credit rating downgrade of Spain on Wednesday and a warning of France’s AAA rating added another layer of pressure to Europe's debt debacle. Earlier this week, copper prices fell on milder-than-expected Chinese growth data, which grew 9.1%, adding to concerns that the demand for copper from the world’s second-largest economy may slow. An additional threat to the demand outlook for commodities, which further weighed on the price of copper this week, were mounting concerns over the recovery of the US economy.
 
Copper took its biggest one-day plunge in three weeks on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book survey that economic prospects appeared to be dimming in the nation and noted weaker or less certain outlooks for business conditions. Also weighing on copper was Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, the world’s second-largest miner, which lowered its 2012 copper sales forecast by 2.5%. By midday today, December copper futures were 3.02% lower at $3.16 per pound.