Copper futures settled lower on Wednesday on weak demand from the world’s top metal consumer China along with fears of a recession in Western countries and banking turmoil in the United States. However, some losses were limited by weakness in the US dollar index after US Federal Reserve signalled a potential pause to its current interest rate-hike cycle.
Copper futures for July delivery lost $0.0175 to settle at $3.8450 a pound on the Comex metals division of New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper on the London Metal Exchange was down by 0.53 percent at $8,468.50 a ton.