London copper and aluminum prices slipped on Monday, as investors held a cautious stance amid an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict even as diplomatic efforts were stepped up to end the crisis.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.2 percent to $10,060 a ton. The most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange eased 0.3 percent to 71,910 yuan ($11,320.31) a ton.
Benchmark aluminum on the LME dipped 0.5 percent to $3,465.5 a ton.
Russia produces about 6 percent of the world’s aluminum, 7 percent of global nickel and accounts for about 3.5 percent of copper supplies.
Russia attacked a base near the Polish border as fighting raged on for a third week.
Meanwhile, a Russian delegate to the talks, Leonid Slutsky, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying they had made significant progress and it was possible the delegations could soon reach draft agreements.
Also on investors’ radar is the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting beginning on Tuesday, where it is expected to start raising interest rates at the end of the meeting, with inflation running hot.
