Reuters reported that London copper steadied but was below a near two month high, underpinned by tight supply in China, while top performer nickel was held below near 15 month highs on fading momentum ahead of a slew of holidays in Asia this week. Copper prices have clawed back nearly two percent in April, given tight credit conditions in China that have restricted some copper consumers from imports in what is the peak season for demand. Mr Joel Crane analyst of Morgan Stanley said that "The risks are laid to the upside for the copper price because of what the local premium is reflecting, which is likely a tightness in supply at a time when demand is quite strong." Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange was flat at USD 6,745 per tonne by 0310 GMT. The contract hit its highest level since March 7 in the previous session at USD 6,798 per tonne before closing with a small loss. Prices remain down more than 8% this year. The most traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged down 0.2% to CNY 47,840 per tonne. Reflecting a shortfall of physical copper in China's domestic market, onshore copper premiums surged CNY 1570 above the front month ShFE contract on Monday, the highest since August 2011. Also reflecting stress in immediate supply, the front month ShFE contract was trading CNY 1330 above the third month contract, the highest in 5 years. Still, business was tapering off ahead of a string of holidays and key data points this week. Japanese markets are closed on Tuesday. The Shanghai Futures Exchange will be shut on Thursday and Friday, while the LME will be closed on Monday. Data points include an initial estimate of US Q1 economic growth and a US monetary policy meeting on Wednesday and jobs data on Friday, as well as an official reading of China's manufacturing health on Thursday. A brutally cold winter will likely put a brake on the US economy in the Q1 but growth fundamentals remain strong and signs of an acceleration have already emerged. Contracts to buy previously owned US homes rose in March for the first time in nine months, a sign the housing market could be stabilizing after suffering a setback from a rise in interest rates and a severe winter. Nickel prices, which hit the highest in almost 15 months at USD 18,715 on Monday, lost steam to USD 18,270 per tonne, after a list of sanction hit companies did not to include metals companies such as top refined nickel producer Norilsk Nickel. Senior US Republican lawmakers said that the latest sanctions imposed on Russian individuals and companies are too mild to deter Moscow from further action in Ukraine and promised to offer legislation as soon as this week to pressure the Obama administration to take stronger action.

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