Copper and other base metals dipped during Asian trading on Wednesday, as investors were cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and on what policymakers might signal on future actions.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.3% at $8,493 a tonne, as of 0455 GMT.

It touched a one-week high of $8,770.15 on Tuesday.

Trading volume, however, remained thin with the Shanghai Futures Exchange shut for a national holiday.

Copper touches one-week high, but Chinese factory data weighs

The Chinese bourse will resume trading on Thursday.

Data on Tuesday showed US job openings fell for a third straight month in March and layoffs increased to the highest level in more than two years, suggesting some softening in the labour market that could aid the Fed’s fight against inflation.

The Fed’s rate decision will be announced at 1800 GMT, with investors mostly expecting a 25 basis point hike and looking for clues on its next steps.

Worries about a patchy post-COVID economic recovery in top metals consumer China, and US debt ceiling and banking sector risks also weighed on markets.

In other metals, LME zinc dropped 0.7% to $2,592.50 a tonne, aluminium lost 0.6% to $2,353, nickel fell 0.4% to $24,855, lead shed 1.2% to $2,147, while tin gained 0.2% to $26,535.