LME copper cash to three month discount hits highest since 1992

LONDON (Reuters) - The discount for the cash copper contract against the benchmark three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) hit $107 a metric ton on Monday, the highest since September 1992.

Expectations of ample supplies of copper on the LME market are behind the large discount or contango, a feature of the market for many months now.

Stocks of copper, used widely in the power and construction industries, in LME-approved warehouses at 161,725 metric tons are up nearly 200% since July last year.

Benchmark copper on the LME was down 0.1% at $8,451 a ton after earlier touching its lowest since Dec. 13 at $8,377.50.

(Reporting by Julian Luk; editing by Eric Onstad and Susan Fenton)