Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.1% at $9,455.50 a tonne by 1010 GMT, recovering after touching an intraday low of $9,385.
"Days like today when there is no major news flow, some people are saying copper and aluminium are both looking quite pricey, so why not take some profits out of this stellar run that we've had," he said.
"That February high" -- $9,617 -- "will be tested sooner or later," said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen, taking prices to their highest since 2011. Prices would then target $10,000 a tonne, he said.
World shares traded near record highs with investors generally upbeat about the prospects for a global economic recovery from COVID-19.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.3% at $8,984 a tonne by 1206 GMT but up about 2% for the week and on course for its first weekly rise in a month.
A barnstorming economic recovery in China and speculative buying pushed the metal used in power and construction to $9,617 in February, its highest in a decade, before prices stagnated.
"Copper prices have settled around $9,000, not $8,000, which tells you the market is fairly tight," said Guy Wolf, global head of analytics at Marex.
"The outlook is very uncertain, the key thing is will vaccines stop the spread of the coronavirus. Once people believe the vaccine stops you infecting other people, things will start moving."
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) shed 0.8% to $8,974.50 a tonne in official trading. The metal touched its highest since March 23 at $9,104 in the previous session.
Copper inventories in LME-registered warehouses have since surged to 150,325 tonnes compared to 74,200 tonnes at the end of February.
Coronavirus cases in Chile surged past 1 million, while infections across Latin America, which has some of the world's biggest copper mines, are also rising.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 3.6% to $9,104 a tonne, its highest since March 23.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also hit its highest in two weeks, advancing as much as 2.3% to 67,670 yuan ($10,330.82) a tonne.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 3.6% to $9,104 a tonne, its highest since March 23.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also hit its highest in two weeks, advancing as much as 2.3% to 67,670 yuan ($10,308.32) a tonne.
There are concerns about China deleveraging; that seems to be uppermost in a lot of people's minds. How much more tightening is there to come? And the Chinese economy seems to be slowing anyway.
Copper inventories are rising on the LME and it seems that demand for the time being has come off the boil, which is a bit concerning because we're going into the seasonally strong part of the year.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.9% to $8,883 a tonne.
"Copper prices lurched lower after we saw the news about the ship in the Suez Canal," a copper trader said. "There may still be a knock-on effect on costs and there is still a queue, but at least the canal isn't blocked any more."
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded down 0.3% to $8,937 a tonne in official rings. Prices are down 7% since hitting 9-1/2-year highs of $9,617 last month.
The blockage in the Suez Canal made people think about higher costs of transporting metal. It's not over yet, but the ship is moving.
While benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded up 1.6% at $8,918.5 a tonne in official rings, prices of the metal used as a gauge of economic health by investors are down about 7% since hitting 9-1/2-year highs of $9,617 last month.
"We are in a consolidation period, not necessarily because of fundamentals," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.