LONDON: Copper prices lost ground on Tuesday, pressured by a firmer dollar and uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, retreating from their strongest in nearly two weeks after persistent problems at a large mine in Congo.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.3% to $9,585 a metric ton by 1015 GMT after hitting its highest since May 14 at $9,634.
“We just don’t know which way tariffs will go, how U.S.-European negotiations are going,” said WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to drop his threat to impose 50% tariffs on European Union imports from next month gave new impetus to trade talks, the EU said on Monday.
U.S. Comex copper futures slid 1.8% to $4.75 per lb, bringing the premium over LME copper to $888 a ton.
Also weighing on the market was the firmer dollar, making dollar-denominated assets more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down by 0.08% to 78,210 yuan ($10,878.36) a ton.
Copper dips on Trump’s tariff threats
In top metals consumer China, end-user demand is gradually slowing and fundamentals could weaken as copper demand approaches its off season, said Chinese consultancy Everbright Futures.
Helping to cap losses in copper was news that Ivanhoe Mines suspended its output forecast for this year after seismic activity at its giant mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo halted underground mining operations.
The DRC is the biggest copper producer in Africa.
Among other LME metals, aluminium lost 0.3% to $2,456 a ton, zinc was flat at $2,701.50, lead slipped by 0.8% to $1,976, nickel lost 1.8% to $15,310 and tin was down 0.5% at $32,650.
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