By Francesca Freeman LONDON--Copper prices fell on the London Metal Exchange Thursday after a weak set of Chinese economic data ignited fresh concerns over metals demand in the country. The LME's flagship three-month copper contract fell as much as 0.5% to a one-week low at $7,256.75 a metric ton. HSBC's flash China purchasing manager's index fell to 49.6 in January from 50.5 in December, indicating a potential contraction in China's manufacturing activity. January's reading was the lowest in six months. China is the world's top consumer of base metals, accounting for around 40% of global demand for copper, which is used in everything from air-conditioning units to smartphones. "Clearly a negative reading is poor for commodities sentiment," said Cailey Barker, an analyst of Numis Securities. However, "it is worth noting the figures are usually seasonally weak around Chinese New Year," he said. Chinese metals trade has already started to peter off ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which begins Jan. 31, according to market participants. Other base metals were also lower Thursday. Aluminum was down 0.4% at $1,776 a ton, zinc was down 0.7% at $2,068.50 a ton, nickel was 0.8% lower at $14,679 a ton, lead was down 0.7% at $2,179.75 a ton and tin was down 0.6% at $22,075 a ton.

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