Copper falls

Sydney/Melbourne

Metals in Shanghai and London fell on Friday as investors slashed risk given escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and ongoing jitters about China debt after a ratings downgrade.

"Metals have had quite a rally in the past few months and have done so much faster than fundamentals would suggest they should," said analyst Amy Li of National Australia Bank in Melbourne.

LME copper tumbled to its lowest since Aug. 16, touching $6,400 a tonne, down 1.2 percent. The most-active ShFE copper futures slid 1.4 percent to 49,700 yuan ($7,548) a tonne.

A combination of factors had led to the sell-off, Li said, among them, rising geo-political tension with North Korea, expectations for a more aggressive interest rate rise cycle in the United States and to a smaller extent ongoing credit concerns in China.