Base metals retreated across the board on Wednesday as fears of falling demand eclipsed news of extraordinary policy moves aimed at boosting economic activity in China and Europe.

Copper sank 1.5 per cent to $3,710 a tonne, approaching last week’s three-year low, as traders shrugged off China’s largest official interest rate cut in a decade and a European Union €200bn stimulus plan, and instead focused on fresh evidence of deteriorating global demand for metals and a glut in supply.