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Copper for delivery in March on the Comex market in New York, was down 0.4% Wednesday morning, touching $4.23 per pound ($9,306 per tonne).

Copper rallied strongly in early January, reaching a seven-month high of $9,550.50 a tonne on Jan. 18, as the dollar weakened and speculators bet that the end of China’s covid-19 restrictions would boost economic growth and metals demand.

But prices lost momentum as Chinese markets closed on Jan. 20.

The market is waiting for data from China after its New Year celebrations, said WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah.

“(This) could be a nice catalyst for prices to break away from this consolidation range,” he said.

Even if Chinese growth revives, the global economy is expected to face a challenging year marked by geopolitical tensions, high inflation, and the energy crisis, according to the Eurochambres global economic survey published on Wednesday.