The most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended unchanged at 41,320 yuan ($6,619) a tonne on Tuesday. "I am a bit surprised that copper didn't weaken more given the trade numbers we got over the weekend. It really shows that the (Chinese) economy domestically slowing," said analyst Dominic Schnider of UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.
"Maybe that is something yet to come, as the market really comes to understand the fact that the Chinese (slowing) story isn't going to run away." China's imports tumbled 19.9 percent, far worse than analysts had expected in data released at the weekend.