TREMORS from Sumitomo Corp's $1.8 billion (£1.1 billion) copper loss continued to reverberate around world copper markets yesterday, sending the metal's value sharply lower. Benchmark three month copper futures on the London Metal Exchange (LME) plunged to a 21/2 year low of $1,785 a tonne from $1,890 on Friday. The market peaked at $2,715 as recently as May 9th.

The key question for traders once again was whether Sumitomo was unwinding its positions, or whether investment funds were taking another swing at the market to force it lower. Copper has lost over a third of its value since early May, but dealers feared further losses as the melt down continued.