BEIJING, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Copper futures fell on Wednesday for a second straight session, weighed down by a stronger dollar and top consumer China's slowing demand suppressed by elevated prices.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 0.73% at 80,500 yuan ($11,324.15) per metric ton, as of 0324 GMT. The contract touched the lowest level since September 12 at 80,380 yuan earlier in the session.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.53% to $10.072.5 a ton.
Dollar firmed even as the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to announce its final decision on an interest rate cut later in the day.
"The imminent rate cut has triggered a wave of profit-taking activities, sending prices lower. The market has fully priced in Fed rate cuts of 75 basis points for the remainder of the year," a Beijing-based trader said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to media.
A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Also, keeping prices under pressure was China's domestic demand skewing to the downside as elevated prices have aroused a wait-and-see mode from downstream consumers that are price sensitive, analysts at broker Maike Futures said in a note.
Additionally, Anglo American and Chile's state-run Codelco have finalised to jointly operate their neighbouring Chilean copper mines in a deal.
Other SHFE metals were broadly weaker. Aluminium dipped 0.26%, nickel fell 1.01%, lead shed 0.18%, tin slipped 0.25%, and zinc lost 0.34%.
Among other LME metals, aluminium lost 0.28%, nickel fell 0.73%, lead slid 0.4%, tin eased 0.58% and zinc shed 0.62%.
($1 = 7.1087 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
((Amy.Lv@thomsonreuters.com [Amy.Lv@thomsonreuters.com];))
