Copper prices fell as traders and investors dumped risky assets amid an escalation in Sino-US tensions on news US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to visit Taiwan.
Pelosi was set to visit Taiwan on Tuesday, three sources said, as the United States said it wouldn’t be intimidated by Chinese threats to never “sit idly by” if she made the trip to the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.2 percent to $7,725 a ton, and the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 1.5 percent to 59,800 yuan ($8,821.49) a ton.
Metals prices have been weighed down by weak consumption from top market China due to COVID-19 restrictions, while fears of a global economic slowdown have also dented demand outlook.
Surveys showed weak factory activity across the United States, Europe and Asia in July, adding to fears of a recession. China also saw a deepening slump in its property sector, a major consumer of metals.
LME tin dropped 1.6 percent to $24,510 a ton, lead fell 0.3 percent to $2,047 a ton, zinc eased 0.1 percent to $3,325 a ton, while aluminum rose 0.3 percent to $2,437.50 a ton.
ShFE aluminum shed 1.5 percent to 18,125 yuan a ton, nickel decreased 0.8 percent to 177,820 yuan a ton, tin dropped 2.1 percent to 195,400 yuan a ton, and zinc declined 0.9 percent to 23,920 yuan a ton.
