The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.6 percent to close at 55,950 yuan ($8,900) a tonne on Tuesday. Copper struggled to head higher, even after losing more than 3 percent between Friday and Monday, with the political distress in Greece cutting risk appetite across equities and commodities.
"There will be continued uncertainty until there's a resolution in Greece, but so much of this hinges upon the political cycle which is very hard to pick from a market perspective," said Matt Fusarelli, analyst at Australia-based consultancy AME Group.