METALS-Copper hovers near eight-year high as Chinese holiday starts

LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Copper took a breather on Thursday as Chinese markets closed for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday after four days of rapid gains that lifted prices to their highest in eight years, with analysts expecting tight supplies to push the rally further.

The start of the Chinese holiday kept trading activity low, and benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.1% at $8,289.50 a tonne in official trading after reaching $8,327.50 Wednesday, its highest since February 2013.

Many analysts forecast a multi-year bull run as demand outpaces supply, though Gianclaudio Torlizzi, a partner at consultant T-Commodity, said the market may be getting ahead of itself.