Copper prices recovered on Wednesday as supply worries, driven by a possible walk-out by Chile mine workers, offset pressure from a stronger dollar.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was little changed at $14,420 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading after earlier being in the red.
Workers at Chile's Centinela copper mine were set to strike after talks between two unions and Antofagasta Minerals broke down, adding to copper supply concerns.
"As the copper market is particularly tight on inventories currently outside of the US, it may have a larger-than-normal impact on prices," RBC analyst Ben Davis said in a note.
LME copper has gained 16% so far this year, largely due to large flows of metals to the US ahead of possible tariffs on refined copper, creating shortages elsewhere.
Inventories in LME registered warehouses have shed 36% since early June while stocks in storage facilities linked to the Shanghai Futures Exchange have slumped by 79% in the same period.
"There's downside pressure from the strong dollar. An October rate hike (in the US) is really off the table, but the fact that there are still rate hikes down the road is keeping metals under pressure," said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree.
The dollar index edged higher, buoyed by rising oil prices, weighing on dollar-denominated industrial metals by making them more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
"Demand remains robust. Despite China's real estate problems, it's still progressing with electrification and that's taking up a lot of copper," Shah said.
The SHFE was closed and will reopen when China returns from National Day holidays on Thursday.
Aluminium lost 0.7% in official activity to $3,112 a ton, as dollar gains offset supply risks tied to the heightened Middle East tensions.
Among other metals, zinc fell 0.3% to $3,755 a ton and tin dipped 0.3% to $54,050 while lead rose 0.5% to $1,883 and nickel gained 0.8% to $15,800.
