Base metal prices started the trading week on the back foot on the London Metal Exchange, with all bar nickel falling from Friday's closing prices on Monday December 10.
The three-month lead price was the biggest loser, dropping 2.2% to close $1,950.50 per tonne. Three-month aluminium also took a hit - it closed 0.9% lower at $1,955 per tonne.Far from rallying after a thawing in US-China trade relations, industrial metals are capped at low levels, with disappointing economic data from China and elsewhere casting a pall."Construction and underlying demand is not exceptionally strong," Bank of America Merrill Lynch metals strategist Michael Widmer said by phone. "In that environment, the trade deal [between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald...