Copper prices fell more than two percent in London and 3 percent Shanghai on Tuesday, weighed down by a rally in the dollar on reports that North Korea had fired artillery shells at a South Korean island and lingering fears about eurozone indebtedness. Shanghai copper fell 3 percent to 61,430 yuan.
"It's the dollar - pure and simple - everything else is a sideshow. We knew imports would be down and we knew that China wants to tighten monetary policy. We don't know how things may unravel in Europe," a trader in Sydney said. Shanghai zinc fell by its daily limit to 17,015 yuan.