Sept. 27 （Bloomberg） -- Copper dropped for the first time in four days as some investors in China boost arbitrage trading to take advantage of the price gap between Shanghai and London.
Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.5 percent to $7,903 a metric ton, and traded at $7,926 a ton at 9:57 a.m. Singapore time. December- delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose as much as 2.5 percent to 61,300 yuan （$9,143） a ton, before trading at 60,640 yuan.
The metal advanced 3.5 percent in London from Sept. 22 to Sept. 24 while the exchange in Shanghai was closed for the Mid- Autumn Festival holiday. Arbitrage traders profit from disparities in prices of equivalent securities or commodities that are traded on more than one market.
"Copper in London rallied very strongly during the time that China was out on holiday," Li Daijun, an analyst at Jinyou Futures Brokerage Co., said from Fujian. "With the global economic outlook still in question, investors turn to arbitrage to make some money," Li said, referring to investors selling the metal in London and buying it in Shanghai.
Aluminum in London dropped 0.9 percent to $2,298 a ton, zinc declined 1.5 percent to $2,214 a ton, and lead fell 0.5 percent to $2,285 a ton. Nickel was unchanged at $22,900 a ton, while tin hadn't traded by 10:00 a.m. in Singapore.
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