Copper turns pale

prices hit by a strong dollar and lack of robust demand Copper prices at Comex slid to a six-week low on Tuesday, 24 October 2012 hit by a strong dollar and lack of robust demand from top metals consumer China as the market gave up more gains from its September rally. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded lower by $93 (1.7%) at $7,860, down from $7,953 at the close on Monday. Earlier it dropped to an intraday low of $7,859.50. December copper closed down 5 cents, or 1.5%, to $3.57 a pound at Comex. US stocks traded sharply lower on Tuesday. As per latest reports, DuPont plans to cut 1,500 employees after reporting a quarterly profit below estimates. Two other Dow components added to investor worries. 3M declined 3.9% after the manufacturer reported a 6.7% profit gain in the third quarter, but reduced its outlook for the full year. Also, United Technologies pointed to soft demand from airlines in narrowing its sales outlook for 2012. Investors were cautious ahead of the Fed's two-day meeting which began on Tuesday, though the central bank is likely to hold off from fresh steps, opting to review the impact of action it took last month. Further weighing on the market was a stronger dollar against the euro, which makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive to Europeans, and losses on equities markets. The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by almost 0.4% today.