Mining shares dragged the FTSE 100 down more than 50 points on Thursday, unwinding a chunk of the sector's recent gains as metal prices lost momentum.
Antofagasta PLC (LSE:ANTO), the Chilean-focused copper producer, was the worst performer, down 4.79% at 3,842p.
Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) fell 4.08% to 7,217p, Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES) dropped 3.81% to 2,897p, EEndeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF, FRA:6E2) lost 2.71% at 4,176p and Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) slipped 2.59% to 3,953.5p.
The selling follows an unusually strong stretch for the sector, with copper reaching record levels on the London Metal Exchange last week above $14,200 a tonne.
Much of that move was driven by supply worries rather than demand, including the Democratic Republic of Congo's ban on exports of copper concentrate and the continued diversion of metal into US warehouses ahead of possible import tariffs.
Goldman Sachs has since played down the Congolese ban, saying it expects little impact on global copper balances.
Demand also looks weaker. Chinese imports of unwrought copper and copper products fell 11.5% year on year in July to 425,000 tonnes, with the seven-month total down 6.2%.
Consumer and producer prices in China also slowed last month, pointing to soft domestic activity in the market that consumes more than half the world's copper.
Precious metals were similarly subdued, with silver slipping back below $65 an ounce after touching a seven-week high earlier in the session.
Traders are waiting on US producer price figures due later, having seen consumer inflation ease for a second month to 3.4% in July.
That has trimmed the implied odds of a Federal Reserve rate rise in September to roughly 40%, from close to 50% a day earlier.
Elevated oil prices are also weighing on sentiment, with the Strait of Hormuz still closed and rhetoric between Washington and Tehran hardening again.
