Hedge funds’ bullish copper bets run into China’s slowdown

Tough times: Trucks from the Chinese-owned Las Bambas mine on the road between Sayhua and Ccapacmarca in Peru. The past six months could be among the worst performing periods in the trading careers of many of those gathering in Hong Kong. — Reuters

LONDON: As copper surged to record highs last month, several senior Chinese traders started trying to contact western hedge fund managers whose names they’d only read in the press.

For years, the veteran traders’ privileged insight into their own economy had given them an edge in the copper market, where China accounts for more than half of global demand.