Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly down at the close of the morning trading session on Monday February 24, with sentiment hit by a spike in novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases over the weekend.
Currently, China has reported a total of 77,345 confirmed cases of the virus and 2,592 deaths so far, according to figures from the country's National Health Commission.
But it is a jump in cases outside of China that seems to be affecting sentiment most this morning.
South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the "highest level" after the number of cases in the country rose to more than 600, the most outside of China, while the death toll was recently at seven.
Elsewhere, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases in Iran and Italy, now at 43 and 157 respectively. Iran has also reported seven deaths from the disease the coronavirus causes, Covid-19.
"Covid-19 news remain front and center in...