By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell for a fourth trading session in London as expanding stockpiles of the metal signaled weakening demand. Aluminum and nickel also dropped. Copper inventories tracked by the London Metal Exchange rose for a 10th day and to the highest since March 2004. Including those monitored by bourses in New York and Shanghai, stockpiles are equal to about 5.4 days of global consumption, above last year's average of 4.9 days. ``There is concern about weaker demand,'' said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London. Copper for delivery in three months fell $78, or 1.9 percent, to $4,012 a ton as of 9:35 a.m. local time. The contract has lost 40 percent this year, heading for the first annual drop since 2001. Global copper demand will fall 0.2 percent next year, down from an earlier forecast of a 1 percent advance, because of slower economic growth in China, Credit Suisse Group analyst Jeremy Gray wrote in a report yesterday. China is the world's largest consumer of all industrial metals. ``There will be a collapse'' in commodity prices, followed by a ``long-term supercycle'' spurred by ``a depleting global base of supply and a huge, growing population,'' said John Brynjolfsson, managing director and chief investment officer at Armored Wolf LLC, a hedge fund in California. He suggested investors should avoid industrial metals and energy products in favor of precious metals. Tin producers in China, the world's largest supplier and consumer, are reducing output as consumption weakens and prices slump, executives said. They join counterparts in Indonesia, the world's second-largest producer. Tin Production Yunnan Tin Co., the world's biggest producer, has seen overseas orders tumble ``significantly'' this quarter, spokeswoman Li Xia said today. Liuzhou China Tin Co., China's third-largest producer, has idled about 10 percent of capacity, a company executive said. Stockpiles of tin fell almost 15 percent to 3,060 tons, the lowest since June 2004, according to the LME. Tin for delivery in three months traded unchanged at $14,500 a ton as of 9:40 a.m. local time, after earlier falling as much as 3.5 percent. Aluminum lost $38, or 1.9 percent, to $2,010 a ton. Nickel declined $380, or 3.8 percent, to $11,500 a ton. Lead fell $38, or 2.5 percent, to $1,462 a ton and zinc slipped $25 to $1,145 a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net

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