US copper futures lost more than 3 percent of their value Tuesday as a firmer tone in the dollar and growing anxieties surrounding a US government bailout plan spurred investors to cash in on the red metal's recent price spike. Copper for December delivery closed down 10.30 cents, or nearly 3.2 percent, at $3.1520 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
The range spanned $3.1260 to $3.2920.Spot September slipped 9.90 cents to settle at $3.1670. COMEX estimated final futures volume at 16,910 lots, compared with the 14,504 lots recorded on Monday. Codelco said Tuesday it had indefinitely suspended a deal giving Chinese state miner Minmetals the right to buy nearly half of its newest mine, Gaby, in northern Chile. London copper for delivery in three months closed at $6,980 a tonne, after hitting a session low at $6,970 and slipping from Monday peak at $7,333, its highest level since September 4.