Base metals fell significantly on LME on Tuesday as a U.S. consumer confidence gauge fell for a second straight month, sinking the market sentiments and raising questions about economic recovery.

Lead and Copper lost the most on LME, falling by 1.67 and 1.25 percent respectively. On MCX, the losses were limited owing to the slide in rupee against the dollar.

IN FOCUS:

U.S. consumer confidence fell more than expected in July, recording its second consecutive decline as sentiment remained hampered by a difficult job market, the Conference Board, an industry group, said.

South Korea has bought 3,000 tonnes of western-origin aluminium ingot for Sept. 30 delivery, but passed on another tender to buy 3,000 tonnes of non-western origin, the state-run Public Procurement Service (PPS) said on Tuesday.

Japanese aluminium shipments rose 14.5 percent in June compared with May, the fourth straight monthly increase, amid signs of a recovery in demand in sectors such as information technology and automobiles.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK:

Base metals were relatively insulated from yesterday’s sell off but we don’t recommend going long in copper. Metals which look strong on their merit are Nickel and Aluminium.