SHFE copper steps down as stimulus hopes fade

Chinese commodity futures were mixed Tuesday after the optimism about the possibility of additional monetary stimulus ran its course.

The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) slipped 0.28 percent to close at 56,020 yuan ($8,824.26) per ton. The December contract opened 0.25 percent above Monday's closing price, but slipped early in the session and never fully recovered.

The SHFE contract was in line Tuesday with the benchmark three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which was trading flat at $7,662 per ton when the Chinese mainland markets closed.

The SHFE steel rebar for January delivery continued its drop, falling 2.06 percent to 3,282 yuan per ton. It was the contract's lowest price since it started trading in 2009, according to Reuters. Rebar's drop stems from concerns about a slump in the Chinese economy and an overcapacity in the steel industry.

Soybean price continued to rise on supply concerns, breaking 5,000 yuan per ton for the first time this year. The most-traded soybean contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose just under 1 percent to close at 5,046 yuan per ton.

Production problems in South America and a historic draught in the US were responsible for the run-up in prices, Reuters reported.

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