Shanghai Futures Exchange copper fell around 1.2 percent to 37,750 yuan ($5,802) a tonne on Tuesday, but prices remained above the 200-day moving average, which offers support. Weak Chinese trade data damaged the outlook for metals and revived fears that a downturn in China's economy could derail global growth.
China's February trade performance was far worse than economists had expected, with exports tumbling the most in over six years, days after top leaders sought to reassure investors that the outlook for the world's second-largest economy remains solid. "We find that the likelihood of a sustained improvement in Chinese demand during 2016/17 is low, and we remain strongly of the view that the structural bear market drivers ... remain intact," Goldman said in a research note.
China's imports of copper fell 4.5 percent in February from the month before to 420,000 tonnes, customs data showed. "Imports are a little bit down, but is it a cause for concern? I don't really think so, given February with Lunar New Year and a short month," said analyst Daniel Morgan at UBS in Sydney.