TOKYO — Prices of nonferrous metals such as copper and nickel are sliding as the market grows wary of a Chinese economy cooling further, undercutting demand in the construction sector and beyond.

Three-month copper futures fell to $8,120 per tonne at one point Thursday on the London Metal Exchange, the lowest in about two and a half months. The price of the metal, an economic barometer, was also down 15% from the year-to-date high marked in January.

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