Copper prices fell on Monday after top copper consumer China shaved its economic growth outlook for this year, although hopes of a seasonal pickup in consumption helped limit losses. The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped half a percent to 61,010 yuan ($9,700) a tonne.
Copper has risen nearly 13 percent this year, buttressed, along with other commodities, by increased liquidity across markets as countries opt to ease their monetary policy to spur growth. Some traders saw the excess metal in Shanghai as a sign of weak Chinese demand, although the modest 0.6 percent price drop on Friday suggested many investors were not rattled by the data. "Since 2010, we can see a seeming cyclical trend in copper stocks at the SHFE, with peaks occurring during the March-April period," Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note.