The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.60 percent to 46,760 yuan a tonne on Monday, but was off an intraday high of 47,030 yuan. Numbers on China's gross domestic product are due on Wednesday, with a weak reading likely to weigh on emerging markets that are starting to recover from the impact of the United States pulling back on economic stimulus.
The industrial metal has rallied more than 20 percent this year, with a drop in nickel stocks in LME warehouses also supporting sentiment. Economists polled by Reuters expect data due on Wednesday to show Chinese growth slowed to 7.3 percent in the first quarter from 7.7 percent in the final three months of 2013. China's imports of copper rose 10.8 percent in March from February on expectations of increased seasonal demand through the second quarter, although shipments were still well off a record high hit in January.