Investing.com - Copper prices struggled near four-week lows on Tuesday, as persistent worries about future demand from top consumer China weighed.
Copper for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 0.5 cents, or 0.23%, to trade at $2.314 a pound during morning hours in London.
A day earlier, copper prices fell to $2.288, the lowest since October 2, after a pair of disappointing manufacturing reports underlined concerns over the health of China's economy.
The final Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for October inched up to 48.3 from September's six-and-a-half year low of 47.2. Despite the modest uptick, activity still contracted for the eighth straight month.
Meanwhile, the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index held steady at 49.8 in October, the weakest level since August 2012. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 50.0 last month.
A reading below 50.0 indicates industry contraction. Copper traders view Chinese factory activity as an indicator of the nation's copper demand, as the red metal is widely used by the sector.
The downbeat data fueled fears the economy may still be losing momentum despite a raft of stimulus measures in recent months.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Elsewhere, gold futures for December delivery declined 30 cents, or 0.03%, to trade at $1,135.60 a troy ounce, as investors continued to cut holdings of the precious metal on expectations of tighter U.S. monetary policy.
The timing of a Fed rate hike has been a constant source of debate in the markets in recent months. The U.S. central bank has one more scheduled policy meeting before the end of the year in mid-December.
Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.