Copper declined in Asia as the tumble in global equities increased concern the global economic slowdown was deepening, reducing demand for raw materials. The metal used in power grids, homes and cars also fell after the dollar rallied. Asian stocks slumped today after the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc forecast the biggest loss in U.K. corporate history. ``There's just a lot of bad news out there at the moment, which is damping investor sentiment,'' Yang Zhenqiang, an analyst at Yide Futures Brokerage Co., said today from Tianjin. Copper lost as much as 1.5 percent to $3,380 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and traded at $3,405 at 11:22 a.m. in Singapore. Metal for April delivery fell as much as 1.4 percent to 27,530 yuan ($4,026) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange and last traded at 27,790 yuan. ``Even though we are comfortable China will show strength in the spring, whether or not it is sufficient to offset the slackness in the rest of the world is a question beyond our ability to answer,'' Na Liu, an analyst at Scotia Capital Inc., wrote in a report e-mailed today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 2.9 percent to 82.58 at 12:17 p.m. in Tokyo. The dollar advanced to $1.3018 against the euro from $1.3069 late in London yesterday. It touched $1.2989, the strongest level since Dec. 10. The ``real demand'' for key commodities has not recovered yet, said Liu. ``We believe investors should continue to buy the dip in global raw materials, but should not chase upside momentum, if any, too aggressively'' before seasonal weakness in demand at Lunar New Year. Among other LME-traded metals, zinc was 0.8 percent lower at $1,260 a ton, lead dropped 1.2 percent to $1,165 and nickel lost 1.3 percent to $11,150. Aluminum was little changed at $1,421 a ton, while tin hadn't traded by 11:21 a.m. in Singapore.

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