Copper falls 2% as dollar climbs off two-week trough

Copper futures slumped in American trade off October 22 highs for the fourth session out of five, as the dollar index rebounded from October 22 lows, following earlier inflation data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, and the US. 

As of 03:06 GMT, copper futures due in December tumbled 1.96% to $268.25 a pound, while the dollar index edged up 0.06% to 96.78 against a basket of major rivals. 

Earlier Chinese data showed consumer prices rose 2.5% y/y, same as September and matching expectations, while producer prices rose 3.3% as expected, slowing down from 3.6% in September. 

Earlier US data showed producer prices rose 0.6% m/m in October, the fastest such pace since January 2017, and beating estimates of 0.2% handily. 

Core prices, excluding fuel and food, rose 0.5%, the best since April 2015, and beating expectations of 0.2%. 

University of Michigan released its preliminary reading for the consumer sentiment survey, showing a dip to 98.3 in November from 98.6, while edging estimates of 98. 

 Finally, business inventories rose 0.3% according to the final reading in September, compared to a 1% increase in August.