BENGALURU- Copper prices slipped on Tuesday, pressured by a firmer US dollar and uncertainty about top consumer China’s economic recovery following lacklustre economic data and a lack of detail on stimulus plans.
The most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) dipped 0.7 percent to 76,970 yuan ($10,855.98) a ton.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.1 percent to $9,648 per metric ton by 0140 GMT.
The dollar was perched at a more than two-month high, making greenback-priced commodities more expensive to other currency holders.
One data set showed China’s export growth slowed sharply in September and imports decelerated unexpectedly. While another report over the weekend noted a deepening producer price deflation, heightening pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus measures.
China pledged on Saturday to “significantly increase” debt to stimulate growth, but officials provided no specific information on the size or the timing of the package.
Meanwhile, China’s unwrought copper imports rose in September to 479,000 tons, up 15.4 percent from August.
SHFE aluminum was down 0.5 percent at 20,770 yuan a ton, nickel fell 0.9 percent to 134,050 yuan, zinc shed 1.7 percent to 26,3550 yuan, lead declined 1.7 percent to 16,490 yuan and tin ceded 1.7 percent to 263,550 yuan.
LME aluminum was flat at $2,593.50 a ton, nickel lost 0.2 percent to $17,640, zinc dropped 0.5 percent to $3,067, lead decreased 0.5 percent to $2,054 and tin eased 0.2 percent at $32,380.