Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.3% at $9,383.50 a tonne.
This morning, there is a marked lack of interest in the Asian session with all the drifting lower on thin volumes as yet again the physical buyers shy away from these prices.
No doubt that Chinese efforts to curb prices is playing out and having a negative impact on otherwise bullish price sentiment. It highlights a market that has lost momentum.
Three-month copper on the LME slipped 0.3% to $9,538 a tonne in official trading after earlier touching its lowest since April 23 and slumping by 4% on Tuesday.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was almost flat at $10,007 a tonne.
Workers at BHP Group's Spence copper mine in top producer Chile said last week they had reached a new contract deal with the company, avoiding a strike.
"Between now and when Indonesia's new copper smelters commence production, smelters that have been reliant on material from Indonesian mines will need to find alternative concentrate sources."
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.2% to $10,201 a tonne.
Torlizzi expected copper prices to correct lower during the summer, when bullish investors would start buying again. He targeted $8,000 as an attractive level to re-enter the market.
The front-month contract, for delivery in March, expired on March 15 and those who sold copper on it then had five trading days to fulfil the obligation to hand over metal to buyers.
"At this point, the international copper futures business processes have all gone through and various rules have withstood the test of the market," the INE said.
The large decline in Chinese smelter activity was well anticipated due to the holiday period and should recover fairly quickly.
If the improvements seen in most regions continue through March, combined with a resumption in Chinese activity, the next month could be the first time in many months where activity level trends are aligned across all major regions.