London copper slides on firm dollar, Shanghai rises

London copper prices declined on Wednesday, hurt by a firm dollar and looming concerns about the U.S. and Chinese economies, while the Shanghai contract rose.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost 1.1% to $8,834 per metric ton by 0713 GMT, reversing gains in the previous session and falling to a more than four-and-half-month low.

However, the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.3% to 71,390 yuan ($9,944.28) a ton.

Higher global prices encouraged more exports from China, while the narrowing disparity between the two markets will attract more cargoes into China this month, analysts said.

China's imports of unwrought copper and products were 438,000 metric tons last month, down 2.9% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Wednesday.

The data also showed the country's exports grew at their slowest pace in three months in July, missing expectations and adding to concerns about the outlook for the nation's vast manufacturing sector. However, its imports swung back to growth.

The dollar index recovered ground and was last at 103.31, making greenback-priced metals like copper more expensive.

The dollar will claw back some of its recent losses over the coming three months on expectations financial markets have again gone too far in pricing in too many Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists found.

Copper experienced large sell-offs as investors left the market after data last week sparked fears of a U.S. recession.

Recent declines in prices of precious metals such as gold also weighed down pressure on copper, Nanhua Futures analysts said.

LME aluminium slipped 0.8% to $2,278 a ton, zinc moved 1.4% lower to $2,563.50, nickel decreased 0.5% to $16,300, while tin rose 0.2% to $29,700.

SHFE aluminium was 0.5% higher at 18,920 yuan a ton, tin added 1.3% to 245,250 yuan, nickel nudged 0.2% up to 129,200 yuan, while zinc declined 1.4% to 21,840 yuan.