Copper's easier close at the end of last week leaves the metal bumping against support at $2,050 a tonne, which appears to be holding, analysts said on Monday.
Thin volumes at the end of last week caused the market to drift down, albeit with a late short-covering rally before the close.
Brokers Brandeis said in their daily commentary that rising stocks, which added 12,725 tonnes last week, continued to give a bearish tone to the market.
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Copper's indecisive close on the charts would have been worse without the effects of short covering that served to steady the metal, brokers Rudolf Wolff said in their report.
"Nevertheless, it remains a poor close on the week, as we expect further selling pressure to emerge," Wolff said.
Chartist Harry Creates at brokers AMT saw the Friday close, which was up on the previous day's close by five dollars, as suggesting that inroads were being made into the band of resistance up to $2,137.
"However, if 2,050 breaks, falls to 2,010 and lower could be seen," he said in his market report.
Despite aluminium's lower close and a dip in technical indicators, analysts maintain a mildly bullish outlook for the metal.
Analysts saw aluminium as having bucked its technical trends of late last week but remained mildly bullish for the metal's outlook in coming days.
"A disappointing performance after the recent gains," said Brandeis. "However, the market appears well-supported around the 10-day moving average at $1,651 We expect further consolidation," Brandeis added.