METALS-Copper edges lower; China closed for New Year

(Recasts, updates prices) NEW DELHI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Copper prices dropped slightly on Monday on reduced demand from China, the top consumer, which was closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, dampening trade. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was down 0.04% at $8,166 per metric ton at 0405 GMT. The prolonged crisis in China's property sector has weighed on sentiment, since construction, a major consumer of base metals, has been impacted. LME aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.4% to $2,206.50 a ton, nickel CMNI3 climbed 0.6% to $16,020, zinc CMZN3 edged 0.4% lower to $2,291.50, while lead CMPB3 rose 0.8% to $2,048. "With markets closed in China for the Lunar New Year holidays, focus will switch to supply side issues," ANZ Research said in a note. More policy measures are anticipated from China after the Lunar New Year celebrations, Sucden Financial said in a report over the weekend. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Sohini Goswami and Dhanya Ann Thoppil) (([email protected];)) (( For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C Foreign exchange rates FX= SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX ))