Copper prices traded lower on August 3 on concerns that the rapid spread of powerful COVID-19 variants will further spur lockdowns and limit demand for the industrial metal.

Three-month copper futures on the London Metal Exchange (CMCU3) fell 1.1% to $9,592 a tonne.
The London dollar has fallen from a record high of $10,747.50 hit in May, but is still up 24% so far.
Investors are concerned about the combination of new lockdowns due to the Covid-19 Delta variant and weaker factory data.
“It is remarkable that growth has slowed in both the US and China, which are major powerhouses of the global economy,” said independent consultant Robin Bhar.
China’s top metals consumer reported higher locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Monday and the central city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in 2019, announced mass testing of all people.
“We’ve seen a price peak due to slowing growth, especially with the Delta variant spreading widely and quickly. The broader uptrend in copper and most base metals prices remains flat. .
In China, the most-traded September contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.6% to 70,450 yuan ($10,896.13) a tonne.
Peruvian residents who blocked the road used by the Chinese-owned Las Bambas copper mine this past week suspended their action on Monday.
The price of Yangshan copper rose to its highest since April 7 at $52 a tonne, showing growing demand for the metal to be imported into China.

Aluminum prices traded on the London floor fell 0.9% to $2,592.50 per ton, nickel fell 1.6% to $19,210, zinc fell 2.4% to $2,977, lead fell 0.4% to $2,393.50 and tin fell 0.9 percent to $34,510. Futures prices of some metals on the Shanghai Exchange (Unit: yuan/ton).