LONDON (Reuters) - Copper prices slid on Monday, retreating from a recent rally as the dollar strengthened and analysts warned prices had exceeded fundamentals.
Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $5,085 a tonne in official rings from a close of $5,230 on Friday.
"The dollar will keep on giving metals direction," said Standard Bank analyst Leon Westgate. "With the slower summer period .... (in the) short-term metals will track foreign exchange markets."
A stronger dollar makes metals priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar was boosted by comments by Russia's finance minister that the U.S. currency's role as the world's main reserve currency is unlikely to change in the near future.
Copper, used in power and construction, hit an eight-month high of $5,388 a tonne last Thursday on a slew of improved economic data, but analysts say the rally was over-zealous as fundamentals remain weak.
The market will look to the New York Fed manufacturing data later on Monday for its next steer.
Copper prices have risen more than 60 percent so far this year in a rally sparked by increased demand from China. But this demand, which appears to have been based largely on stockpiling by the world's top copper consumer, appears to be tailing off.
