The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 1.1 percent to 59,750 yuan ($9,400) a tonne on Thursday. China's manufacturing sector activity shrank in March with the overall rate of contraction accelerating and new orders sinking to a four-month low, the HSBC flash purchasing managers index showed on Thursday.
"This is in line with the continued moderation story, but I don't think it signifies a more noticeable slowdown at this juncture," said Thomas Lam, an economist at DMG & Partners Securities in Singapore.