Copper bears keep net-short position as stockpiles rise

New York

HEDGE funds are betting that the worst is yet to come for copper.

Prices for the metal used in everything from homes to cars to appliances are stuck in the worst slump in more than two years. Stockpiles jumped 11 per cent in Shanghai last week.

With China's economy showing little signs of recovery, money managers are increasing wagers that copper will fall further, pushing their net-short position to the most bearish since April 2013, US government data show.

China accounts for about 40 per cent of global demand, and consumption is slowing at the same time that suppli…