Copper lower

Melbourne : London copper drifted lower on Tuesday as a firm dollar dictated direction in a thinly traded market, with holidays in top metals user China.

London Metal Exchange copper eased for a second day, dropping 0.3 percent to $7,096.50 a tonne by 0240 GMT, having touched its highest in a month on Friday at $7,253.

Other metals were largely unchanged in extremely light trading volumes of less than 1,000 lots.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed for the Lunar New Year, reopening on Thursday, Feb. 22. The dollar steadied after pulling ahead from a three-year low against a

currency basket the previous day, though it was dogged by growing concerns a ballooning fiscal deficit in the United States could disrupt the economy.