Copper pulled back on Monday after a strike in Indonesia came to an end. However, analysts say strong Chinese demand should continue to drive prices.

China's refined copper imports in March hit the highest level ever, with total imports exceeding 200,000 tonnes for the first time, data from China's customs bureau showed.

Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell to a session low of $7,820 a tonne before recovering to $7,900/7,910 at 0931 GMT, still down around 0.7 percent from Friday.

"Freeport McMoRan has reached a wage agreement with workers at its Indonesian Grasberg mine...This is going to ease the tight supply situation and thus weighs on copper," Dresdner Kleinwort said in a research note.

A four-day strike at the Indonesian Grasberg mine of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. lifted copper prices above $8,000 last week but conditions are now returning to normal, the company said on Monday.

"During the strike our production was below average but with the situation normalising, we hope that production can return to normal," Mindo Pangaribuan, a spokesman for Freeport said.

The company will meet copper and gold output targets this year at its Grasberg mine despite the stoppage, a senior official at Indonesia's mines and energy ministry said on Monday.

Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. announced via e-mail that shipments of copper concentrate continue but the company is mining and milling copper at reduced rates due to labor issues at it's Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

Copper pulled back in Thursday's London trading.

July Copper fell $70, or 0.9 percent, to $7,915 a metric ton in trading on the London Metal Exchange.

Copper has gained more than 25 percent this year.

Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange advanced for a fourth day on Wednesday, gaining as much as $41, or 0.5 percent, to $8,090 a ton. The contract, which settled at $8,049 yesterday, the highest close since July 14, traded at $$8,070 at 10:31 a.m. Jakarta time.

Copper prices rose on Monday to near seven-month highs as the market continued to show concern over supply delays in Argentina and a strike threat in Indonesia.

Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange rose to a session high of $7,928, but came off in the afternoon on profit taking and ended at $7,730, still up $25 from Friday.

Copper is up almost 50% from the lows set in February. This 18 month chart of Comex Copper Futures ($COPPER) shows prices that are approaching the highs set in 2006. Unprecedented global demand should push copper prices to new records in the coming months.