NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 27 （Reuters） - Copper ended easier on Monday, as prices took a breather from September's rally, but analysts expected upside momentum to return and looked to upcoming data releases to either fuel the break or reversal from the $8,000（per tonne） ceiling.
"I think it is just consolidating a little bit here," said Justin Lennon, base metals analyst with Mitsui Bussan Commodities （U.S.A.） Inc. "It's made a really strong base below here and it has moved up nicely last week … it's just a pause," he said.
Copper for December delivery HGZ0 dipped 2.10 cents to end at $3.5970 per lb on the COMEX metals division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dealing from $3.5880 to $3.6440, which marked a new high for the fourth position futures contract dating back to mid-April. On the London Metal Exchange （LME）， benchmark copper for three-months delivery CMCU3 ended down $35 at $7,910 a tonne, near its session peak at $7,986, which was just shy of last week's five-month high of $7,990.
Since the start of the month, prices of the industrial metal have rallied more than 7 percent, driven by expectations of further downward pressure on the U.S. dollar, falling inventory levels and an improved fourth-quarter demand outlook.
"The commodities complex as a whole has benefited from this recent bout of dollar weakness. Clearly copper is getting close to that $8,000 level where we got to in April," said analyst Dan Major at RBS.
Market expectations of supply tightness have narrowed the contango between the cash and the three-month copper contract to near zero from about $28 a tonne in early August.
"There has been some good inventory outflow out of the COMEX over the last few weeks," Mitsui's Lennon said. "Demand is forcing people to secure some spot cathode in the market."
LME copper inventories fell another 2,100 tonnes on Monday to 378,125, their lowest level since last November, down nearly one-third from a six-year high hit in February.
COMEX copper stocks saw a hefty 1,111 short tons leave warehouses on Friday, leaving levels at their lowest since late November.
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