By Francesca Freeman LONDON--Copper futures retreated on the London Metal Exchange Thursday, weighed by renewed concern over demand for the metal from the U.S. and China. The LME's flagship three-month copper contract was down 0.7% at $7,132.75 a metric ton in morning European trade. Prices fell after a weaker-than-expected set of Chinese manufacturing data raised doubts over the country's demand for industrial metals. HSBC's preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers index slid to a seven-month low at 48.3 in February from a final score of 49.5 in January. A score below 50 points to a contraction in factory activity. China is the world's biggest metals consumer, accounting for around 40% of global copper demand. The data were "nothing short of disappointing" and cannot be attributed entirely to seasonal factors, said Credit Suisse. As such, "LME metals prices made an immediate response" to the reading, the bank said. Confirmation that the U.S. Federal Reserve wishes to continue reducing its bond-buying program also dented investor sentiment, said Richard Fu, head of Asian commodities trading at Newedge. The Federal Open Market Committee's latest meeting minutes detailed Fed officials' cautious optimism for an improving U.S. economy, and their willingness to continue the pace of tapering its monthly bond-buying activity by $10 billion per meeting. The Fed's efforts to boost economic growth are often cited as a supportive factor for metals prices. In other base metals Thursday, aluminum was down 0.2% at $1,766 a ton, zinc was 0.8% lower at $2,042.75 a ton, nickel was 0.6% lower at $14,425 a ton, lead was down 0.9% at $2,146 a ton and tin was down 0.6% at $23,050 a ton.

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