Shanghai Futures Exchange copper fell 1.4 percent to close at 37,250 yuan ($5,724.16) a tonne on Tuesday as the dollar maintained its strength ahead of a slew of central bank meetings this week, with the Federal Reserve expected to affirm that further US rate rises are likely ahead. In other metals, ShFE nickel fell 1.7 percent, tracking a sharp 2.5-percent loss in LME nickel overnight.
The Fed will likely make clear that as long as US inflation and jobs continue to strengthen, economic weakness overseas won't stop rates from rising fairly soon.
Faster or more frequent than expected rate rises could throw up headwinds for commodities, but for now a cheerier China picture has galvanised sentiment and offered commodities a price floor, said analyst Daniel Hynes of ANZ in Sydney.
"There have been little pockets of positive data from China, not enough to sustain the rally we've seen across commodities but certainly enough to prevent the markets retouching the lows we saw in January," he said.
"We do feel, not just in base, but in the wider commodity complex, that investors are getting less bearish. With signs of the fundamentals also starting to turn, it's more than likely that we've seen the bottom in the cycle in the short term."
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