Copper extended its decline on Wednesday, with Chinese prices touching an eight-month low, as buying dried up from bargain hunters after still higher U.S. tariffs were imposed on top metals consumer China.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.1% to $8,650.50 per metric ton by 0940 GMT.

LME copper has tumbled by 20% since touching its highest in more than nine months on March 26 at $10,164.50.

"There's clearly been some dip buying from China, but I think the problem is that the prospect of a U.S. recession is going up and up," said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading.

U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries took effect on Wednesday, including massive 104% duties on Chinese goods, deepening his global trade war and spurring more widespread selling across financial markets.

"I think everyone was hoping that Trump would blow back a bit in terms of his aggressive tariffs, but I think it's going to take a while for this to shake out," Smith said.

"It's like a falling knife at the moment, so I wouldn't want to be trying to buy the dips myself."

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) dropped 1.8% to 72,130 yuan ($9,814) per ton, hovering near its lowest since August 2024.

Industrial users who need physical copper in China have been on the market to take advantage of the weaker prices.

"Due to Trump's unpredictable tariffs, copper prices might decrease further, yet the current price below 75,000 yuan still encourages some fabricators to procure," a base metals trader said.

The Yangshan copper premium , which reflects demand for copper imported into China, has more than doubled since late February to $87 a ton, its strongest since December 2023.

Among other metals, LME aluminium lost 1.2% to $2,320.50 a ton, nickel gave up 0.3% to $14,145, zinc shed 0.3% to $2,554.50, lead fell 1.0% to $1,850.50, and tin slid 2.2% to $31,890.

($1 = 7.3498 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Eric Onstad Additional reporting by Violet Li and Lewis Jackson in Beijing)