Metal prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed slightly higher in late evening composite trade on Thursday, and further fund buying was pressured by profit taking. A trader said, "mainly the fund's technical buying, but also a small amount of trade buying." "We believe that Friday may rise further, especially before the LME week-long meeting, but market participants are increasingly expected 10 There will be a fall in the second half of the month." Meir analyst Meir said in a daily report, "Following the process of pushing up prices, the fundamentals have now given way to wild technical factors. We still think there is still room on the upside. Because the fund may try to put the three-month copper at the key 3,060 resistance level." "The rest of the metal still has some room to rise before hitting the recent highs." Three-month copper overnight trading closed higher by $11. At US$3,046 per ton, it fell back from the recent 10-year high of US$3,065. The market was also supported by news that the larger Codelco subsidiary of Chile’s state-owned copper company will strike on Friday. The union said that the strike will reduce production, especially the cathode copper, and force the company to sell more copper concentrate. Three-month aluminum reported $1,850, down $10. Traders said that if aluminum were to close above $1,850 again, it might further stimulate technical buying, with the next strong resistance at 1,970. However, traders expect that aluminum will remain neutral in the short-term and swing between $1,840-1,880. Three-month nickel reported $16,300, up $320; three-month nickel rose $50 to 9,125/140. Three-month lead rose by 1 U.S. dollar to 959; three-month zinc rose by 9 U.S. dollars to 1,159/16.