The most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slid 0.8 percent to 49,470 yuan ($8,036) a tonne and a three-week low on Tuesday as concerns over geopolitical tensions in Iraq and Ukraine clouded the outlook for demand amid thin summer trade. Improving supply is setting up copper for lower prices in the months ahead, although trading conditions are likely to remain quiet in the near term, analysts said.
"It's peak summer. Volumes are thin. Moves can be exaggerated so people are reluctant to commit to too much trading activity," said analyst Mark Keenan of Societe Generale in Singapore.