Copper prices fell slightly in London on Thursday, pressured by a strong dollar and uncertain demand prospects in top metals consumer China, but were on course for a 4% gain over the month.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.2% to $8,834.5 a metric ton by 1237 GMT.
"Consumption in the world's biggest consumer of metal has disappointed following the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, when activity usually starts to pick up," said ING commodities analyst Ewa Manthey.
Chinese manufacturing activity is likely to have contracted for a sixth straight month in March but at a slower pace, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, suggesting factory owners are struggling for orders despite some green shoots in the economy.
The market reaction to Thursday's proposal by China's top copper smelters of a 5-10% production cut owing to tight supply of raw materials was muted because the plan had already been flagged and priced in, one trader said.
Metals trade in London hours was cautious ahead of the Easter weekend, which coincides with the end of the first quarter, another trader said. With public holidays on Friday and Monday, the LME market will not reopen until Tuesday.
"We have historically walked into prices on the Tuesday morning that were not reflective of the close on the Thursday night," the second trader said.
The dollar index rose on Thursday, reflecting currency strength that makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
The market was awaiting U.S. PCE inflation figures due on Friday, which could influence the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.
In other metals, LME aluminium rose 0.6% to $2,311.50 a ton, zinc lost 0.2% to $2,433, lead was down 0.2% at $1,999 and tin eased 0.3% to $27,440 while nickel added 0.8% to $16,755.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt in London Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi Editing by David Goodman)
