Copper fell from the highest in more than seven months in London and New York on speculation that the price increased too fast, outpacing demand. Before today, copper prices climbed more than 64 percent this year, partly because China, the world’s biggest user of the metal, bought supplies for its national reserves. European and U.S. demand remains weak, analysts said. “The upward move in prices during the last few days has been phenomenal,” Alex Heath, the head of industrial metals trading at RBC Capital Markets in London, said today by telephone. “People question the speed of the recovery.” Copper futures for July dropped 0.2 cent to $2.317 a pound at 11:22 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Earlier, the price touched $2.353, the highest since Oct. 15. “Copper has gotten a little bit ahead of itself and needs to cool off,” said Donald Selkin, the chief market strategist at National Securities Corp. in New York. “The gain has been a little outsized, so it’s natural to see some profit taking.” Bret Clayton, the chief executive officer of Rio Tinto Group’s copper unit, said today that the outlook for the metal remains “uncertain” in the next 12 months. Copper futures pared declines after a report showed U.S. pending home sales increased by the most since 2001, renewing speculation the worst of the global recession is over. Home Sales Outlook Pending sales of previously occupied U.S. homes jumped 6.7 percent in April, the fourth gain in five months, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. Before today, copper jumped 65 percent this year in London on signs the global economic slump was easing. “People are really getting excited by this idea that the worst is over,” said Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 53.1 in May, the third straight reading of more than 50, which indicates expansion, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said yesterday in Beijing. Stockpiles of copper in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange slid for an 18th straight session to 309,225 metric tons, the lowest since Dec. 12. Inventories have declined 44 percent from a high this year on Feb. 25 as China bought the metal. “The price hike has predominantly been driven by China’s reserve purchases and hopes of an imminent economic turnaround,” Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, wrote today in a report. The rally may be unsustainable, “given that demand remains weak,” he said. There may be “a massive correction of copper prices soon,” Weinberg said. London Trading Copper for three-month delivery fell $7.25, or 0.1 percent, to $5,067.755 a ton ($2.30 a pound) on the LME at 3:50 p.m. London time. Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, aluminum added 0.4 percent to $1,480 a ton, nickel rose 0.1 percent to $14,670 and tin eased 0.7 percent to $14,550. Lead slipped 0.3 percent to $1,655 and zinc shed 1.9 percent to $1,579 a ton.

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