Chinese exports slumped 6.8% from a year earlier in November, worse than forecasts for a decline of 5.0%, while imports dropped 8.7%, compared to expectations for a tumble of 12.6%. That left China with a surplus of $54.1 billion last month, down from $61.6 billion in October.
Prices remained supported after trade figures revealed that China’s copper arrivals in November surged 10.0% from a month earlier to 460,000 metric tons, easing worries over weakening demand prospects from the Asian nation.
Copper for March delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 0.4 cents, or 0.21%, to trade at $2.050 a pound during morning hours in London. A day earlier, prices lost 2.8 cents, or 1.35%, as a strengthening greenback weighed on dollar-denominated commodities.
Meanwhile, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dipped 0.04% to $4549.50 a metric ton.
Market players now looked ahead to data on Chinese consumer and producer price inflation on Wednesday for further hints on the strength of the world's second-largest economy. On Saturday, the Asian nation is due to publish reports on industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment for November.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 45% of world consumption.
Elsewhere in metals trading, gold inched down on Tuesday, as market players started looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting later this month.
While investors widely expect the Fed to raise rates at its December 15-16 meeting, they anticipate the pace of increases to be gradual. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.3% to 98.44.
