Copper and silver were close to posting new record highs, but have pared back as uncertainty surrounding the eurozone failed to shift.
Until last week industrial metal was faring relatively well compared to other sectors.
But now demand fears have mounted and investors have started to price in a potential slowdown in China’s growth, so industrial metals have subsequently been hammered.
Copper, which is used in electrical wiring, crashed below the $7,000 per tonne mark for the first time in over a year.
Meanwhile, on the precious metal side, silver fell by more than a third in the three days to Monday, its sharpest drop in three years, although it rebounded 13% by the end of the day.
Even gold, which has been seen by investors as a most-trusted safe haven has lost some of its shine in the last week.
At its lowest point during Monday’s trading gold fell to $1,534.49 per troy ounce, down 15% over four days.
A further sign of the waning appetite for gold came from ETF Securities’ (ETFS) latest weekly report, which showed outflows of $52 million from gold ETCs in the last week.
ETFS said investors were reducing non-cash positions due to mounting risk aversion and added that gold prices had been hit by a sharply appreciating US dollar.
Chinese investors have been seen as one of the primary sellers of metals, spooked by the slowdown of their own economy and subsequently the reduced demand.
