Copper stalls

Beijing : Copper prices were flat on Tuesday amid a persistent weak dollar, even as official data showed top producer China churned out a record volume of refined copper in December, suggesting the world´s biggest copper consumer is well supplied.

A weak dollar makes metals cheaper for holders of other currencies and supports prices, and the greenback´s dive as a result of the U.S. government shutdown had seen copper climbing 0.4 percent on Monday.

"We think recent copper price rebound is mostly driven by dollar weakness," Argonaut Securities wrote in a note.

"Any dollar weakness reversal may weigh down on copper prices, in our view." While China´s refined copper output hit an all-time high in December, Argonaut noted that unwrought copper imports fell by 5 percent in 2017.