Copper pauses in rally, strength remains

London copper prices fell one percent on Tuesday, paring gains from the strong rally in the previous session, but the strength may remain on investors' confidence in the global economic recovery and a weaker dollar. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1 per cent to $7,435 a tonne by 0235 GMT, retreating from a more than 3 month high of $7,510 in the previous session. Shanghai's benchmark third-month copper futures contract edged up 0.2 per cent to 57,800 yuan a tonne. It hit 58,300 yuan a tonne earlier, highest since April 30. The most-active contract for November delivery was up 0.3 per cent at 57,740 yuan.

LME copper is expected to trade in the range of $7,400 to $7,500 a tonne in the short term, he added. LME copper is expected to form a top around $7,511 per tonne as the wave "C" is almost completed, according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. Trading in LME zinc was particularly active, as volume on LME's electronic trading platform had already exceeded 3,400 lots in the first two-and-a-half hours after the market opened. LME zinc fell 2.5 per cent to $2,070 a tonne, after rallying nearly 5 per cent in the previous session. Shanghai copper rose 1 per cent to 16,805 yuan and hit 16,980 yuan a tonne, its highest since May 11.