SINGAPORE: London copper slid on Tuesday, with the market giving up last session's gains, as spreading COVID-19 infections in top metals consumer China raised worries over demand.

Shanghai nickel dropped almost 5%.

"We have probably seen the storm and now there are reasonable concerns over Chinese demand," said Guy Wolf, global head of market analytics at Marex.

"We are looking at an impact on Chinese industrial production. There are concerns over demand outlook for the near term."

Copper: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost 0.3% to $10,315 a tonne by 0503 GMT and the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.6% to 73,510 yuan ($11,547.83) a tonne.

Copper, nickel dip as top consumer China’s COVID-19 woes weigh

China: Concerns over demand in top industrial metals consumer China kept a lid on copper prices.

Lockdown: China's financial hub of Shanghai launched a planned two-stage lockdown to contain a coronavirus surge, adding to worries about growth prospects for the world's second-biggest economy.

Codelco: Chile's Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, is preparing to offer the market some "non-core" exploration assets, signalling a rare privatisation for the state-owned mining firm, a senior executive said on Monday.

Nickel: Shanghai nickel dropped 4.7% to 215,170 yuan a tonne.