TOKYO -- Speculators are ditching nonferrous metals, driving down prices for the vital industrial commodities as concerns about China's modest economic forecasts and the recent collapse of American banks cloud the global outlook.
International prices of nickel, used in construction materials and automobiles, have fallen almost to a four-month low. The prices of copper and aluminum, used in a wide range of applications such as electrical appliances, are near two-month lows.
