April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell for a second day in London as the dollar strengthened and the European Union said Greece's budget deficit last year was wider than forecast, sparking concern about sovereign finances. The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback's strength, rose as much as 0.4 percent. Greece's budget gap was 13.6 percent, more than the government's forecast of 12.9 percent, the EU's statistics office said. Portugal had a 9.4 percent deficit. Japan's swelling debt burden may put pressure on its sovereign AA rating, Fitch Ratings said. "There are jitters in debt markets over the finances of Greece, Portugal and Japan," said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London. "We have therefore seen the dollar rebound, and base metals are falling with it." Copper for delivery in three months slid $69, or 0.9 percent, to $7,690 a metric ton at 12:20 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange, wiping out a gain of as much as 0.6 percent. Futures for July delivery dropped 1.6 percent to $3.5005 a pound on the Comex in New York. The total budget shortfall for the 16-nation euro region widened to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product last year, the biggest since the introduction of the euro in 1999, the statistics office said. Japan will unveil a fiscal plan in June as a roadmap to cut a debt burden Fitch estimates is at 201 percent of gross domestic product. A failure to contain public debt might have "severe" consequences for the world economy, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. Chinese Demand Emerging nations including China are leading the world economy out of its worst recession since World War II, the IMF said. Copper consumption in the Asian country may rise 8 percent to 6.05 million tons this year, according to researcher Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. Demand from the transportation, home-appliance and real- estate industries will remain robust, Antaike researcher Yang Changhua said today at a conference. Record imports of copper into China, the world's biggest consumer, in 2009's first half helped prices to more than double for the year. A report due at 3 p.m. London time today probably will show that purchases of previously owned homes increased in the U.S., the second-largest copper user, according to economists. Purchases gained 5.2 percent to a 5.28 million rate, the most this year, the median of 75 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey shows. Construction uses a quarter of all the copper produced, according to the Copper Development Association. LME Inventories Reports to be released at 1:30 p.m. London time may show that initial jobless claims fell to 450,000 last week and that with wholesale costs excluding food and fuel rose 0.1 percent in March, according to surveys. Copper stockpiles tracked by the LME fell 0.1 percent to 507,125 tons. Bookings to remove metal from inventories jumped for a second day, up 4.6 percent to 22,700 tons. Copper production climbed 7 percent to 161,000 tons in the first quarter, Anglo American Plc said in a statement. The company also reported increased output of nickel and said the sale of its zinc unit is "well advanced." Tin for three-month delivery on the LME slipped 0.1 percent to $19,000 a ton. Stockpiles in LME-monitored warehouses fell 3.1 percent to 23,065 tons, the lowest level since Sept. 16. LME data as of April 20 show one party holding 50 percent to 79 percent of the stockpiles. On the futures market, one party accounts for at least 40 percent of short positions, or bets on lower prices, expiring in May, the latest LME data show. The biggest bet on a price gain expiring in the same month accounted for between 30 percent and 39 percent. Nickel fell 0.4 percent to $26,885 a ton and aluminum slid 0.9 percent to $2,330 a ton. Zinc dropped 0.3 percent to $2,418 a ton and lead declined 0.9 percent to $2,300 a ton. --With assistance from Andrew Davis in Rome, Li Xiaowei in Shanghai, Carli Lourens in Johannesburg, Toru Fujioka in Tokyo and Sandrine Rastello and Courtney Schlisserman in Washington. Editors: Dan Weeks, Stuart Wallace.

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