(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose along with most other base metals as inventories fell and investors braced for demand signals from China’s annual parliamentary meetings.

The country’s political elite are gathered in Beijing for the National People’s Congress, with economists expecting it to set an economic growth target of around 5% for 2024. The inclusion or absence of major new policy initiatives in areas like real estate and infrastructure should steer industrial metal markets in the coming days, ING Groep commodity strategist Ewa Manthey said.

Read More: China to Unveil GDP Target, Avoid ‘Bazooka’ Stimulus at Meeting

“China continues to be the key driver for metals, and we believe commodity-intensive stimulus is needed to support medium-term demand growth,” Manthey said. “Until we see a sustainable economic recovery in China, we will struggle to see long-term moves higher for metals, like copper and aluminum.”

Copper inventories in warehouses tracked by the London Metal Exchange fell by the most since July on a percentage basis, marking a fifth-straight daily drop.

Copper on the LME rose 0.5% as of 4:32 p.m. London time. Aluminum fell 0.4%, while zinc and nickel rose.

--With assistance from Maria Clara Cobo.

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