Industrial metals slip on China Covid surge; aluminium prices shed 2.1%

Industrial metals faltered on Tuesday as rising cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 dampened the economic outlook for top metals consumer China, but supply concerns underpinned prices.

Benchmark prices for aluminium shed 2.1 per cent to $3,252 per tonne in official trading activity, after sinking 4.7 per cent in the previous session. Three-month copper was down 0.8 per cent to $9,860 per tonne.

China's economy perked up in the first two months of 2022, with key indicators exc­eeding analysts' expectations, however, a surge in Omicron cases, property weakness and heightened global uncertai­nties weighed on the outlook.

"There is a bit of a