The metal, which is mostly used in soldering, dropped 6.3% to settle at $17,700 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

Australia, China, India and Peru are key production drivers.

Over the next year, Moody’s predicts prices will remain below 2018 levels while rising costs will put price margins under pressure.

Bullion hit a six-year high last week as top central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve adopted a more dovish tone and tensions spiked between the U.S. and Iran.

China has been gradually curbing imports of scrap, which accounted for 10% of its copper use in 2018.

Authorities will seek to cap imports at, or even below, last year’s level of 281 million tonnes.

Canada returned to its gold exploration leadership position in terms of a number of projects drilled.

Nickel is defying both the general macroeconomic concerns weighing on other industrial metals and signs its own internal dynamics are weakening.