London
Copper and aluminium slid to one month lows on Monday while zinc hit its weakest level in more than five years on worries about upcoming data that may show weak industrial activity in top metals consumer China.
Data on Thursday is likely to show that China's giant factory sector shrank for the second month in a row in September, according to a Reuters poll,
"The market is looking for direction and probably the most likely source of that is Chinese data," said Caroline Bain, senior commodities economist at Capital Economics in London.
"We've had quite a bit of stimulus already and it hasn't yet been reflected in any sort of rebound in activity. We're going to need some improvement in data before we have any rebound in prices."
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 1.6 percent to $4,945 a tonne in official midday trading, the weakest since Aug. 26.