The variant virus has raised concerns that copper and other industrial metal prices have fallen

At 1710 GMT, the London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark three-month copper tumbled 3.
6% to $
9,465 a tonne.
Copper prices, a measure of global economic health, fell
for two consecutive weeks.
The dollar rose, while global stocks and oil prices tumbled as European and Asian countries tightened restrictions
on tourists following news of the new variant.

BOCI Commodities said the market was in safe-haven mode
due to newly discovered variants of the new coronavirus.
Little is known about the variant, found in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, but scientists say it may be able to evade immune responses and could be more contagious
.

The likely acceleration of monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve, which has also added to market pessimism, while the lack of liquidity due to the Thanksgiving holiday has exaggerated price volatility
.

With LME stocks low and supply yet to fully recover, copper supplies remain very tight, so prices are likely to hold up quite well
even if economic growth slows.

Among other base metals, aluminum fell 4.
2 percent to $2,601 a tonne, zinc fell 3.
1 percent to $3,197, lead fell 0.
4 percent to $2,261, tin fell 0.
5 percent to $38,600 and nickel fell 3.
7 percent to $
19,895.