"The copper market looks like it may stay dull for the moment amid no fresh fundamental factors," a trader at a local brokerage said.

Copper will likely trade in a range between $1,665 and $1,720 a tonne on Thursday but is expected to test the support soon as sluggish demand in Asia keeps sentiment bearish, he said.

He said producer selling has been seen at above $1,720 a tonne whereas some short covering by funds was coming at below $1,665.

LME three-month copper was traded at $1,680/84 at 0430 GMT on Thursday, against Wednesday's London afternoon kerb close of $1,672/73.

Meanwhile, aluminium prices were expected to drift lower following Wednesday's weak close, as technical indicators remain bearish, traders said.

They also said aluminium would likely test support at $1,350.

"Yesterday's poor close, along withweak technical factors, will put downward pressure on aluminium prices," a trader said.

Aluminium closed on Wednesday at $1,357 a tonne after rising as high as $1,385 at midsession despite a 12,000-tonne LME warehouse stocks rise into Liverpool and Sweden, which dealers shrugged off as widely expected.

The gloomy outlook for the Japanese economy would continue to depress the aluminium market as the country was a world's leading aluminium consumer, the trader said.

He pegged resistance for aluminium prices at $1,400 a tonne.

At 0430 GMT, the three-month aluminium bid price rose slightly to $1,358 a tonne from the previous day's kerb close at $1,357.

Nickel prices remained largely subdued on Thursday after a flurry of output cutbacks on Wednesday, traders said.

A local broker said nickel prices were expected to stay in a range between $4,000 and $4,450, but further production cutbacks would support the nickel market and help test the resistance.

Analysts in London said on Wednesday thesmall-scale cuts seen in Australia, Japan and China were not enough to address oversupply. The market would still comfortably be in surplus this year unless industry giants acted.

At 0430 GMT, nickel prices were trading at $4,100 a tonne, against $4,090 at the previous day's close.