Copper prices fell on Tuesday, weighed down by rising inventories in exchange warehouses and concerns about demand amid subdued economic data from top consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) declined 0.3% to $8,428 per metric ton by 0226 GMT, while the most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) shed 0.6% to 69,320 yuan ($9,508.79) a ton.
Inventories of copper in LME-registered warehouses rose to 107,425 tons, the highest since October 2022, with most deliveries in August going into warehouses in the United States, South Korea and Taiwan.
SHFE copper stockpiles edged up for the second straight week last week, albeit at a moderate rate.
China’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace in eight months in August, re-emphasising slowing activities throughout the world’s second-largest economy and biggest metals consumer, despite stimulus efforts to revive consumption.
Cushioning metals prices were a softer dollar, which makes metals cheaper to holders of other currencies, and data on Friday that showed a surprising expansion of factory activities across export-oriented firms in China’s coastal regions.
LME aluminium declined 0.7% to $2,196.50 a ton, nickel rose 0.1% to $21,070, zinc shed 0.6% to $2,465.50, lead fell 1.2% to $2,197 and tin eased 0.3% to $26,305.
SHFE aluminium dropped 1.4% to 18,955 yuan a ton, nickel edged down 0.3% to 170,670 yuan, zinc eased 0.2% to 21,230 yuan, lead shed 2.7% to 16,510 yuan and tin rose 1.6% to 221,550 yuan.