Copper prices tumbled by the most in a month on signs the slumping global economy is eroding demand for metals. Inventories tallied by the London Metal Exchange climbed 1.6 percent to 369,500 metric tons, the most in almost four years. Stockpiles have risen 8.7 percent this year after surging 72 percent in 2008. Before today, copper had tumbled 63 percent from a record in May as a global recession slashed demand. “Copper is down on people’s views of the economy and demand,” said Patrick Chidley, an analyst at Barnard Jacobs Mellet in Stamford, Connecticut. “It is logical that higher inventories would be weighing on the price.” Copper futures for March delivery dropped 8.4 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $1.4755 a pound at 9:17 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. A close at that price would be the biggest one-day loss since Dec. 12. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slid $150, or 4.4 percent, to $3,250 a metric ton ($1.47 a pound). The price reached a record $8,940 on July 2.

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