ASX copper shares have been struggling lately as fast-rising copper prices have come off the boil.
The red metal hit multi-year highs of US$10,674 (AU$14,765) per tonne on 4 March. It's been mostly downhill since then.
Overnight, spot copper prices dropped another 2.4% to US$9,935 per tonne. That's down 7% in less than 2 weeks, according to data from Bloomberg.
And ASX copper shares are feeling the pressure.
The Oz Minerals Ltd (ASX: OZL) share price, for example, is down 3.61% at the time of writing and down 12% since the opening bell on 7 March, the first trading day since copper prices spiked to multi-year records.
Meanwhile, Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) is down 6.23% so far today and down 11.2% since 7 March.
Image source: Getty Images
Why are copper prices sliding?
It's not just copper prices falling. Almost every industrial and precious metal gave up some ground overnight.
While different forces are impacting the range of tradeable metals, copper could be coming under additional pressure with news of the fast-spreading Omicron variant in China.
As China is maintaining its zero-COVID policies, this is seeing major new lockdowns imposed within the Middle Kingdom. Amongst the latest restrictions, the city of Shenzhen and the province of Jilin have been placed under lockdown.
With copper widely used across a range of industrial activities, any significant slowdown from the world's number 2 economy and most populous nation could impact its midterm demand and place downward pressure on prices.
How have these 2 ASX copper shares been tracking?
Both ASX copper shares have fallen over the past month.
The Oz Minerals share price is down 5.4% since 15 February.
Sandfire shares have fared considerably worse.
Off the back of recently released half year results that came in below expectations, the ASX copper share is down 29% since this time last month.
For some context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 1.5% over that same period while the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) has slipped 4.4%.
