With the price of copper going down amid a strengthening dollar against major world currencies, markets continue to assess the prospects of demand, according to trading data.

September futures on copper fell by 0.42% to $3.6395 a pound (about 0.45 kilograms) on Comex exchange.

Why is the price of copper going down again? At Monday’s close of business on the London Metal Exchange (LME), a ton of copper with three months’ delivery fell 0.64% to $8,027; aluminum rose 0.19% to $2,390.5. And zinc gained 0.27% to $3,497 per ton.

The dollar index (the exchange rate against a basket of currencies of six U.S. trading partners) rose 0.77% Monday, rising above 109 points in trading; Tuesday’s reading is 109.12 points. The dollar’s appreciation makes copper less affordable to buy in another currency.

At the same time, investors remain concerned about the outlook around the economy of China, the largest consumer of copper. Such expectations are reinforced by the latest macrostatistics releases as well as the country’s ongoing “zero tolerance” coronavirus policy.

Earlier, we reported that crude oil prices in Asia fell amid growing supplies from the U.S. and Brazil.