Copper prices fell on Thursday, weighed down by a strong dollar and uncertainty about the extent of the new economic stimulus measures that will be implemented in China, the main consumer of metals.

Le cuivre à trois mois sur le London Metal Exchange (LME) a fell 0.4% to 9,640 dollars per metric ton during trade at the official auction, after reaching its lowest level in more than two weeks on Wednesday.

Prices have returned to levels reached before China started announcing measures to support its struggling economy, which fell short of expectations and lacked details.

“Metals will likely be on hold until a catalyst appears, hopefully, when the finance minister holds a press conference,” said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree. The Chinese Ministry of Finance will detail its fiscal stimulus plans to boost the economy at a press conference on Saturday

The most traded copper contract in November on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed down 1% to 76,870 yuan ($10,869.93) per ton, following overnight losses in London.

LME copper prices fell 1.3% this month after rising 6.4% in September, the best monthly increase since April. The strong dollar has also put pressure on metals, making commodities denominated in US dollars more expensive for buyers using other currencies

Among other metals, LME aluminum rose 0.6% to $2,556 per ton, nickel added 0.4% to $17,445, zinc rose 0.5% to $3,034, and zinc rose 0.5% to $3,034, and tin gained 0.9% to $32,775 while lead slid 0.4% to $2,053.