LONDON (MarketWatch) - Copper futures prices continued to fall Friday on the first trading day of the year as the dollar strengthened and weak Chinese economic data.

At the close of trading in the afternoon session, the London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper futures contract fell 0.7 percent to $ 6,252 a tonne.

Copper prices fell 14% in 2014, the largest decline in three years, due to adequate supply and market concerns about the global slowdown in demand.

The ICE dollar index rose to its highest level since March 2006, as the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates this year.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for December was 50.1, a year-and-a-half low, and 50.3 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

Nickel futures fell 2 percent to $ 14,830 a tonne. Aluminum futures fell 1.1 percent to $ 1,832 a tonne. Zinc futures rose 1.2 percent to $ 2,205 a tonne. Lead futures rose 0.6 percent to $ 1,870 a tonne. Tin futures prices rose 1.3 percent to 19,645 US dollars per ton.