Copper fell for a second day on the London Metal Exchange, as base metals staged a broad retreat ahead of key jobs data from the US later this week.
The red metal dropped 0.6% to trade at $9,914 a ton as of 10:47 a.m. London time, after hitting its highest since March in intraday trading on Wednesday. The next major event for the markets is on Friday, with a US payrolls report that should steer the Federal Reserve's next moves on interest rates.
Metals have gained in the past month on growing expectations for the Fed to cut rates in September, as well as a weaker dollar. Sentiment has also improved in China recently. Still, a Reuters report that carmaker BYD Co. has slashed its sales target for this year underscored the continued headwinds for the economy.
Other metals also fell on the LME. Nickel fell 0.7% while aluminum dropped 0.7% and zinc was down 0.6%.
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