Copper futures dropped in Shanghai, pacing declines in other metals, on signs the global recession is deepening, hurting demand for raw materials. Retail sales in the U.S., the second-largest user of the metal after China, extended a slump to the longest in at least 16 years. The weakening U.S. economy has spread to the rest of the world and cut copper demand, resulting in a 12 percent jump in inventories this year. ``Underlying fundamentals remain poor,'' Dan Smith, metals analyst at Standard Chartered Plc, said in a report e-mailed today. ``Wire and cable makers, which account for the bulk of copper consumption, have made significant cuts to their European and U.S. workforces in recent weeks, suggesting that demand weakness is likely to extend well into 2009.'' Copper for April delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 3.1 percent to 26,680 yuan ($3,902) a metric ton, and traded at 26,700 yuan at 10:17 a.m. Singapore time. London Metal Exchange copper was little changed at $3,284 a ton at the same time, after losing as much as 4.9 percent yesterday, as the dollar strengthened. Stockpiles monitored on the London Metal Exchange climbed to a five-year high of 382,150 tons yesterday, equivalent to a ``comfortable'' seven days of consumption, according to Smith. Still, a ``fiscal stimulus-led recovery'' in the second half of 2009 will benefit copper because of its high exposure to construction, said Smith. ``Furthermore, the copper market was the most troubled on the supply side during the recent bull run, and we see these problems persisting,'' Smith added. The metal reached a record $8,940 July 2 as labor disputes and bad weather hurt supplies. Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum fell 0.9 percent to $1,481 a ton, lead was down 0.5 percent at $1,125, nickel dropped 0.9 percent to $10,750, and tin slid 1.1 percent to $11,075. Zinc rose 0.6 percent to $1,270 a ton as of 10:21 a.m. in Singapore.

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