MELBOURNE (June 1): London copper edged up on Monday after sliding 5 percent last month, but remained under pressure with data stoking worries about demand in top metals user China.

The country's official PMI was in line with expectations, showing its factories continued to face headwinds, despite recent interest rate cuts and other policy stimulus.

A private sector report showed that activity shrank for a third consecutive month as export orders contracted at the sharpest rate in nearly two years, burnishing the case for further supportive measures.

"China is not a good story, you can't bank on a big impulse from the demand side," said analyst Dominic Schnider at UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.

Schnider said that support could still come from the copper mine supply side, given poor performances in general, and from Chile in particular. "With supply-growth at 2 percent, the market is in a position to go higher," he added.

Copper output by the world No. 1 producer Chile fell 0.7 in April against March due to flooding.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had risen 0.4 percent to $6,038.5 a tonne by 0759 GMT, after 1.3 percent loss in the previous session. Copper prices shed 5 percent last month.

The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1 percent to 43,650 yuan ($7,043.16) a tonne.

Hedge funds and money managers lowered their bullish bets in Comex copper futures and options during the week ended May 26, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed.

"We suspect the 'Sell in May and go away' decline still has more room to run," said INTL FC Stone in a research note.

"Economic growth in the U.S. is slowing more than the consensus projections, while Chinese growth, which is far more consequential to commodity prices, is also decelerating despite government efforts to get the economy back on an even keel."

The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter as it buckled under the weight of unusually heavy snowfalls, a resurgent dollar and disruptions at West Coast ports.

LME nickel and aluminium shed nearly 10 percent each last month due to rising supply, while ShFE nickel fell almost 2 percent on Monday, as traders bet global brands would get approval for delivery against the new contract.

Asian aluminium premiums extended their downward slide in May as swelling China exports piled more pressure on the already swamped region. Meanwhile, two top aluminium producers have offered Japanese buyers premiums down by more than half for July-September primary metal.