Third month copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.9 percent to close at 71,530 yuan per tonne on Monday. "We find that the more copper prices go above $9,000, the slower the market becomes," said a Hong Kong-based trader. "China doesn't like to pay high prices.
They can afford to wait so they will. And with the outcome of what's going on in the US still unclear, people are not prepared to make any big bets," the trader said. Shanghai zinc slipped 1.4 percent to 18,530 yuan.