NEW DELHI- Copper futures eased on Wednesday, as a stronger dollar and weak demand outlook in top consumer China weighed on the market.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.4 percent at $9,533 per metric ton.
The dollar was firm on Wednesday and trading on the precipice of the 160-yen barrier as investors turned cautious and counted down to the release of US price data at the end of the week.
A firmer dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 1.5 percent at 77,630 yuan ($10,684.60) a ton.
“The red metal has been under pressure in recent days following weak economic data,” ANZ Research said in a note.
“The global outlook for manufacturing remains poor after flash PMIs in Europe and the US. This has been compounded by rising inventories for metals such as aluminum, copper and nickel.”
LME aluminum was 0.2 percent lower at $2,490 a ton, nickel edged up 0.3 percent to $17,210, zinc slipped 0.1 percent to $2,868, lead eased 0.1 percent to $2,207, and tin fell 1.4 percent at $31,805.
