Prices of nonferrous metals fell on Tuesday as traders and investors in Asia exercised caution following sessions of strong price rallies, partly driven by speculative trading.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.8 percent to $9,749 per metric ton, while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.9 percent to 78,540 yuan ($10,841.03) a ton.
LME copper is still up 14 percent so far this month and hovering near a strong resistance level of $10,000.
SHFE copper has been breaking fresh record highs almost every session in April.
Speculative trading, hedges against sticky inflation, supply disruptions in some metals and some positive macroeconomic data have fueled the rally in metal prices.
LME nickel dropped 2.7 percent to $19,205 a ton, tin tumbled 3.9 percent to $33,145, aluminum declined 1.4 percent to $2,633.50, zinc shed 1.4 percent to $2,792.50 and lead decreased 0.8 percent to $2,152.
The LME cash aluminum was traded at a premium of $27.09 a ton over the three-month contract the highest premium since June last year, indicating tightness of near-term supply.
LME cancelled warrants – or stocks earmarked for deliveries – of aluminum have surged to 348,000 tons, the highest since February 2022.
