Copper prices fell on Tuesday as a tumbling iron ore market weighed on trader sentiment, while caution ahead of key central bank meetings due this week pressured the metal used to gauge global economic health.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 1% at $9,457 a tonne, as of 0536 GMT, while the most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 0.9% to 69,590 yuan ($10,874.12) a tonne.
The most-traded Dalian iron ore futures were near a one-year low on steel production controls and sluggish downstream consumption, accelerated by a debt crisis at property giant China Evergrande Group.
Copper is widely used in construction, manufacturing and power, making it a good indicator for global economic health.
The trading volume was thin as market participants were waiting for more cues from a US Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates, which could impact economic growth and liquidity in the financial markets.
"The dramatic drop in iron ore and the upcoming Fed meeting causes a few people to stay side-lined so volumes are pretty thin across base metals," commodities broker Anna Stablum of Marex Spectron said.
"Sentiment onshore is not great. Property is definitely a concern," she said.
Fundamentals
Top copper miner Codelco offered Chinese customers annual copper supply for 2022 at a premium of $105 a tonne, up 19.3% from $88 a tonne this year, extending a trend of higher premiums on strong copper demand and very low inventories.
LME aluminium fell 0.8% to $2,698 a tonne, nickel dropped 1.9% to $19,335 a tonne and zinc shed 0.6% to $3,337 a tonne.
ShFE aluminium lost 0.8% to 19,895 yuan a tonne, zinc dropped 1.2% to 23,820 yuan a tonne and tin advanced 1.5% to 276,220 yuan a tonne.
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