China's copper futures finished lower on Wednesday for the second straight day, mirroring falls on the London Metal Exchange, traders said. The most active September contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended at 32,300 yuan ($3,903) per tonne, down 470 yuan from Tuesday's close, while the maturing July futures fell 530 yuan to end at 34,190 yuan a tonne.
The LME three-months stood at $3,297.50 on Wednesday's Asian trade, down $67 from the same time on Tuesday. "Losses on the LME have weighed on the domestic market.sentiment was also hurt on Tuesday's slide in Shanghai," said a Chinese trader. But traders said recently low copper inventories both at home and abroad would support the metal's prices.
"We don't believe investors should dump copper at a loss," the trader said. Volume on Shanghai's copper futures market swelled to a heavy 207,398 lots on Wednesday from 156,934 lots a day, indicating selling was strengthening due to weakening sentiment.
Domestic spot prices dived 575 yuan to move in a range of between 34,250 and 34,350 yuan per tonne on Wednesday. Aluminium futures also sagged, tracking losses on the LME.
Shanghai's most active August contract ended at 16,480 yuan a tonne, down 100 yuan from Tuesday's close. Aluminium volume was decent at 18,304 lots on Wednesday.
LME three-month aluminium traded at $1,712.50, down sharply from $1,736.50 at about the same time on Tuesday.