US copper futures opened on Tuesday with small losses in an early bout of profit taking, then slipped further after US inflation readings rose faster than expected, said metal traders.
Though some players have been buying copper amid increasing energy prices as a near-term inflation play, others said they were looking at the longer-term concerns of an inflationary trend eventually slowing the US economy.
On Tuesday, however, slipping oil prices and Monday's accelerated rise in copper prices led to light selling.
Copper for December delivery at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 0.65 cent at $1.8145 a lb after falling as low as $1.8090. Spot October fell 1.10 cents to the session low of $1.9100 per lb and set a high at $1.9210.