Most Shanghai copper futures closed lower on Tuesday amid dwindling trade volumes as the market awaited trading leads, traders said.
The most active contract, October, closed 60 yuan lower to end at 24,900 yuan ($3,008) a tonne, while most other contracts lost between 50 and 140 yuan. Combined volume almost halved to 92,156 lots from Monday's 172,324 lots.
"Volumes were really light. There's a listlessness in the market that will only dissolve with the arrival of fresh news and data. For now, we just have to wait and see," said a Shanghai trader.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract remained firm, trading at $2,618/$2,624 a tonne in Tuesday's Asian trade, versus $2,615/$2,625 in late trade on Monday in London.
Spot copper in Shanghai was largely unchanged, moving in a range of 26,080-26,330 yuan per tonne on Tuesday.
Shanghai aluminium contracts ended mixed on Tuesday, closing between 70 yuan lower and 80 yuan higher. Volume dropped off to an unusually low 15,860 lots from Monday's 21,998 lots.
LME three-month aluminium was trading at $1,715/$1,718 a tonne in Asian trade on Tuesday, firmer from its Monday close of $1,714.