The base metals were mostly in the red on Tuesday. Copper peaked shortly after the New York open, but sagged from there, only to rally late in the day to return from whence it came, finishing at $3.7923/lb., down two-tenths of a cent.

Nickel fell, but not that dramatically, as it closed just off its intraday low at $9.1822/lb., down less than 4¼ cents. Zinc pushed to near $0.86 in the pre-dawn hours, but faded, ending at $0.8263/lb., down just over a penny. Aluminum slipped to $1.3505/lb., also off just over a penny, while lead shot straight up in the pre-dawn hours, then held its gains, adding better than 4 cents, to $0.9708/lb.

Copper was sluggish, but held its ground amid supply…

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