Copper futures settled lower on Tuesday, pressured by strong US dollar after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that US interest rates might need to go up faster and higher than expected to get inflation under control. Meanwhile, weak import data from world’s top metal consumer China also put pressure on copper demand and prices.
Copper futures for May delivery lost $0.1135 to settle at $3.9750 a pound on the comex metals division of New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper on the London Metal Exchange was down by 1.76 percent at $8,763.50 a ton.