March 4 (Reuters) - Most base metals fell on Monday on Chinese demand concerns following weak manufacturing data, although market participants hoped for more stimulus measures in an upcoming political meeting.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) eased 0.2% to $8,486.50 per metric ton by 0552 GMT.

The most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) eased 0.1% to 68,900 yuan ($9,571.31) a ton.

Inventories of copper in SHFE warehouses continued to climb and were last reported at 214,487 tons, the highest since March last year.

"The pace of consumption recovery after the (New) Year is slightly lower than seasonal average," said analysts at brokerage firm Jinrui Futures in a note.

China's manufacturing activity in February shrank for a fifth straight month. The sector accounts for a large portion of metals demand.

However, the poor data raised pressure for more stimulus measures as the Chinese parliament prepares for a key annual meeting during March 5-11.

The Jinrui analysts added that spot purchases of copper might improve as the destocking is expected to start in March.

LME aluminium shed 0.7% to $2,2278 a ton, nickel declined 1% to $17,480, zinc eased 0.1% to $2,415, tin decreased 0.5% to $26,365, while lead rose 0.3% to $2,040.50.

SHFE nickel lost 1.3% to 135,920 yuan a ton, zinc eased 0.2% to 20,555 yuan, aluminium edged down 0.1% at 18,960 yuan, tin dipped 0.2% to 217,290 yuan, while lead rose 0.2% to 16,005 yuan.

Base metals prices were also supported by a softer dollar, which makes greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.

The dollar was pressured by lower Treasury yields, as traders waited for fresh clues on the timing of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, with weak U.S. factory data last week raising prospects for policy easing.

For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 7.1986 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Eileen Soreng )